How many times have we been taken in by the ads for a new model or new car
and been willing to sell all we have or will have to get it? Probably more
common than you think, as I look back on cars I have purchased when I could get
financed, but still couldn’t afford a trip to the grocery store until the next
paycheck. Sometimes it starts with the ad, telling you how you life will change
after you buy their car, sometimes it is the neighbor we hate because he has one
upped us and suddenly your two year old sedan looks like an old man’s car
compared to his new fastback. Maybe it was the younger single co-worker with no
kids and money to spend who dove you over edge, maybe a raise that finally
enabled you to break even every month, but went to a new car. Whatever the
reason, we were driven to the new car dealer and drove out with a new car.
Now this new car could come in many shapes and models. The sedan you hate
may be the car they desire, if only because it has four doors for all the kids.
It isn’t in the shop every week. Maybe the attraction of shiny new paint is too
much, a promise of better miles per gallon, or the new car smell that never
lasts long enough. But for all these reasons and more, we will go onto debt,
sacrifice regular meals, wear worn out shoes and jeans just so we can peek into
the garage and see the new baby we just had. And new and beautiful it is, until
after everyone has seen it, and admired your choice, and then the first payment
comes. Suddenly all the new is gone, and it is relegated to the same status as
the once treasured car it replaced. After the new wears off, when it needs
service, a bath and some tlc, too many sit there and ask “will you still love me
tomorrow?”
If cars could talk, I know guys who claim they can, the new ones and the
old ones would have interesting conversations. The new would be excited about a
new owner, about being new and desirable, while the older cars would look back
and remember when they once were new. And warn the new cars of things to come,
to enjoy today, for some day you will be just another used car to be traded.
That as important as you were the day you drove off the showroom floor, the in
between years will have taken their toll, and now a final bath and shine will
try to cover up al the use and abuse. As you now are a commodity to be sold to
the highest bidder. All the things that were going to be fixed tomorrow will be
passed on to the next owner, who hopefully sees you as you were once seen when
new. How many used cars I have purchased, overlooked by buyers because the
point is faded, and just needs a day of cleaning and tuning, and bought and
enjoyed. When I needed a rain car this year, a 2000 Xterra came into my life,
passed over because of age and miles, but super clean and mostly all working, it
serves the exact purpose I bought it for. New tires give it a tougher look, and
if you look at the side that didn’t face the sun you will be impressed by the
paint, the other side faded by the sun. So I park it with the good side facing
me,and grin as this survivor fills a need. If it could talk, I think it would
be happy with its new home, a certain patina accompanying it, a car I can take
to Walmart and not cringe. It was new once....and now is new again to me. Just
an old car that needs paint....I took the time to look and see beyond the
patina....
As I read the ads from Hemmings, I always wonder why the perfect car for
sale will the list a few inexpensive items that need to be fixed. Or why the
guy in Florida whose car is his prize never fixed the AC? Or how did the dents
get in this flawless auto? And why while the rest of the car is presentable,
does under the hood look horrible? I know I get in trouble asking too many
questions, but sometimes you just gotta know before you buy. Or make a
commitment. So it is when people come to Jesus. They are told the stories of
how he forgives their sin, will make them new again, but hide the things inside
they don’t want him to know about. Not knowing that with age they will take
them down, but still rely on a friend, Bible study, prayer chain, pastor, or
author to tell them everything is OK,when they all know it’s not. Shiny new
Christians ready to take on the world, and the world eats them alive. The
hidden sin their peers cannot see gnawing away at them, until they go onto their
next religious experience, and forgetting about Jesus. Where once they were all
about Jesus, now only the external matter, the appearance of godliness, while
the needed spiritual repairs go neglected. Being a new creature in Christ has
become old, still saved but joyless, as the spirit is denied. Minor things have
become big things, big things have become deadly. They exist but not live on
life support, supported by anything but Jesus, and wonder why the elite
Christians look down on them. Not knowing those looking down are just as
miserable.
But these are just the kind of people Jesus died for. The imperfect, the
downtrodden, the messed up, on drugs or alcohol, divorced and abandoned, and
lonely and lost. At trade in time he doesn’t see our past, but our future, and
in him it is bright. In him. Repeat that until you believe it. You never have
to wonder if Jesus will still love you tomorrow, while still in the womb he knew
you. A person to him then, a person to him now. He not only loves you as you
are, he wants to you to see you as he sees you, and to take advantage of his
promises. Both in times of joy, and in times of trials. Just because you need
some repairs in your life, he will not trade you or forsake you. No back row of
used up lives on his lot, all are made new again. But we need to believe Jesus,
trust in his spirit, or we are calling God a liar. Harsh words, but do we know
better than God? He will love us tomorrow, will we still love him? Is not God
more dependable than people, than our old cars? We can see the oil leak under
the car, but do we dare look and trust to see where it is coming from? God is
asking us to trust him to look, not based on religion and what he can do for us,
but on who he is and what Jesus has already done. Why do we trust the man behind
the pulpit but not God whom he represents?
There are a lot of qualified mechanics out there that can solve symptoms,
only God sees the cause and heals it. Do we trust God or man? Can God lie?
Does God lie? If we trust him to be saved, can we not trust him with every day
troubles? In each case, let him be God, let him love you, and don’t worry about
the patina. My open heart scar only testifies to the greatness of him, each
scar we have is to remind us of that. The old body won’t matter in heaven, or
in hell either. Perform the regular maintenance as he suggests and enjoy life.
Or you too could be the one being traded as religion lets you down. All of the
Bible is inspired by God, the truth he calls Jesus. No other name by which we
can be saved. By refusing you call God a liar. And liars have no place in the
kingdom of God. Only Jesus gives you the opportunity to be forgiven. Would you
really want to give your life to anyone else? Something to remember before you
commit to the payment schedule. Walk in faith that turns to trust, and never
have to worry. New models come and go, God got it right the first time with
Jesus. You can too.
love with compassion,
Mike
mattehw25biker.blogspot.com
