Monday, January 23, 2017

render unto Honda the things of Honda
















In June of 1972 I bought my first new motorcycle, a 1972 Honda CB350.  I didn’t know it at the time, but I had bought a bootleg motorcycle, as Ralph’s Honda in South Orange, New Jersey was not an authorized Honda dealer.  At the time, Japanese bike sales were growing exponentially, and could be bought new in anything from hardware stores to old store fronts.  These dealers had no investment in parts or service, and dealt only in cash, and you paid up front, sometimes waiting weeks for your new ride.  And Ralph’s Cycle was one, except he sold accessories and parts, just could not perform warranty work.  He was better than most, but still unauthorized by the factory.  But like most of us at the time, we had connections at the dealer, but Honda’s were reliable, and at 18 who knew what a warranty even was.  If it broke, you fixed it.  And the price of $825 saved me almost $100 over VIP Honda, who was authorized.  A lot of folding green from cutting yards, a paper route, and evening job at Sears.  So Ralph’s it was, and filling out and sending in the warranty card when I got home, I was registered, time to go riding.  But not necessarily under the warranty...
Warranty policies were vague at the time, and many dealers may not get reimbursed from the factory for warranty work.  Maybe parts at cost, but no labor, which some did because you bought from them, you were loyal.  And just because you sent in the card, didn’t mean the factory would recognize the sale, if from an authorized dealer, you were buying into potential problems.  No consumer laws or advocates like today, you paid yer money and takes yer chances.  And although many stores may have an authorized sign to sell helmets or accessories, it didn’t mean the bike you bought with all your hard earned money made them an authorized dealer.  Without the investment required from the factory, the authorized dealer was their supplier.  There were some good mechanics, but with out the up to date training and knowledge of the new bikes.  If your bike said Honda on the tank, you still had to render the things of Honda unto Honda, the Triumph or Harley store may fix their brands under warranty, they were authorized for their brand, you needed to take it where your brand was authorized.  Many independents grew into dealerships, many bootleg dealers as they were known, went out of business.  The market was growing, the industry with it, all we cared about and wanted to do was ride.....
When the disciples questioned Jesus about paying their taxes, he who had no money, nor carried any, reached into the sea and pulled out a fish.  No mere feat, ask any fisherman.  But when he pulled out the coin, a meaner feat, and told his audience, “render the things of Caesar unto Caesar, and the things of God unto God,” he was referring to the face of Caesar stamped on the coin.  The coin was authorized for trade and paying taxes, but only Jesus was and is authorized to save.  Over the years many bootleg religions have thrived, and many do today.  They promise wealth, money, a good life, maybe even a planet upon death for you to be God, but none can but Jesus.  The root word for religion means bound, and religion binds us up to rules and legalism, just like the Pharisees.  You may attend the church, belong to the denomination, even have a membership card, but unless you have your name written in the book of life, unless you are authorized by Jesus to enter heaven, you aren’t.  You have bought into a bootleg religion, and from Mormonism, to Jehovah Witnesses, to Scientology, to the Universal Church, they all deny Jesus.  Oh some may take his name in vain in the name of their religion, but deny his deity.  Some will say he is a way, but not the way.  They will claim he was a great teacher or a prophet, but not God.  Some will accept him as God, but still tell you that you must work out your salvation, and may be at risk of losing it if you don’t obey their doctrines.  You may save a little in relationship, but you are not saved.  Only Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  Only he is authorized to forgive your sins, and salvation is a free gift from him.  Beware the counterfeiters, if they deny the deity of Jesus Christ, and of the trinity, of which he is part, they deny the spirit also, and denying the spirit is the only unforgivable sin.  For the spirit is directing us to Jesus when we are lost, and within us after we are saved.  No other can promise you this, only Jesus. 
And who better to correct and repair your life than the one who created it?  Pick up your Bible today, and before reading, ask God to “show me the truth.  Show me how to be saved.”  And watch as when his spirit guides you, the words on the page come alive.  That as others trip over them, you ride freely in the spirit.  When the spirit awakens you, it may mean losing friends or leaving your church, but true freedom is only found in the spirit.  How many of us were saved at unauthorized churches, not recognized by the mainstream, where it was all about Jesus and not religion?  Who just because they weren’t ordained by man, the preacher was ordained by God himself?  When Jesus pulled the coin from the mouth of the fish, were the disciples getting his true meaning?  Are we?
Human authority, like a warranty, is limited in scope and duration.  One mile or one day after the warranty runs out, you are out and you are responsible.  The laws may have rule and reign over our lives, but not to our souls.  And when we are saved, it is forever.  The New Covenant of Jesus, a contract with no ending dates is eternal.  As is he and as we are in him.  The ultimate issues of life belong to him, we come to him in faith, some walk in it, some by obedience.  But when we walk in trust, in the spirit, when we truly know we are forgiven and heaven bound, we too can have heaven on earth and all its blessings.  Would you buy a new car or motorcycle without a warranty?  Then why are you buying into a religion that can not offer you one?  Bootleggers, from Hondas to booze, they are a poor substitute for the real thing.  The only thing in life that the law has no control over is your spirit, your will.  Give it to Jesus, and watch the blessings grow and multiply.  Jesus is the ultimate power over death, and in life too.  Parts and labor included.  Only authorized people will enter.  Only Jesus saves, and at today’s prices, that still is a miracle. 
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com