Yesterday, I spent a few hours in helping my friend install a new ceiling fan and light kit in his house. Initially, I thought it is just a direct swap with his old one. I found out that is not the case when arrived at his house later – it is a brand new and more complicated one actually. So, I have to figure out how to piece its components together. The installation took much longer than I thought due to the limited head-room clearance and complication in install. When it came to the time of power-on, we were all eager to find out its result. The light turned on and off properly but the fan would not spin. We were all baffled and thought there must be something wrong during the installation. Took down the fan kit and rechecked the fan for lockage and the wiring and then reinstalled, it is still no luck. We could hear the fan motor humming but its blades are not moving. Great, I told myself. How can a brand new fan being a dead-on-arrival (DOA)? Now what should we do? Finally, my friend and I decided to take the fan kit down and disassemble it back to its original form in order to request a replacement from store. You could imagine how disappoint we were after being labored so long 🙁

This is an interesting experience and it gives me a thought to share with you. Do you know that we are all DOA when we were born, my friends? This is of course from spiritual point of view, instead of from physical. When God in the garden of Eden commanded Adam, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. 園中各樣樹上的果子，你可以隨意喫‧只是分別善惡樹上的果子，你不可喫，因為你喫的日子必定死‧(Genesis 2:16-17)”, He wants Adam (the man) to listen to His instruction and learn its consequence. This command becomes a verdict to mankind when Adam’s wife Eve listened to the serpent’s tempting words and Adam followed suit in violating God’s command. What a tragic outcome! As a result, we the mankind is separated from the source of life – God – become spiritual dead. That’s reason apostle Paul indicated to us that we were dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1). 

Analogously, our DOA is also like the humming motor couldn’t spin the fan – it can not function properly. Even my friend and I spent so much time in trying to make it work, it is still no success. Similarly, throughout human history, we could see tremendous efforts have spent in trying to use our own deeds and works in order to gain God’s eternal life. The end result, I would say, is completely futile. As apostle Paul said, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. 你們得救是本乎恩，也因著信，這並不是出於自己，乃是神所賜的‧也不是出於行為，免得有人自誇 (Ephesians 2:8-9)”. Realize the fact that we are DOA does not mean that there is no solution. God does offer a solution for us: to receive His Son, Jesus Christ, as our personal savior.

When we decide to take this action, God can make us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression. This is by grace totally! Therefore, my friends, do you want to exchange your DOA status with a “live” status? Then, please come to our God to do the request!