Our F150 was called into duty yesterday as a surrogate taxi, taking a
friend to the doctor. For the second time in two days, I was driving a four
wheeled vehicle voluntarily, a Sunday afternoon ride through the hills in the
Mustang Sunday with the top down, as opposed to being forced by weather,
shopping, or people hauling. But coming home on the freeway during rush hour,
my mind kept looking at the motorcycles cruising by in the HOV lane, as I sat
maintaining my 20 mph average. And my mind started wondering, really wandering,
and I wished I was riding. And the catch lines of car ads, old and new started
to entertain me. Was there some subliminal message in them? Or was I losing
what was left of my frontal lobe activity due to non-use in a car? “Have you
driven a Ford lately?” Yes. But I rather be riding my motorcycle today.
“There’s a Ford in your future,” again a motorcycle waiting at home. Passing by
a BMW dealer, “the ultimate driving machine,” and suddenly their cars were a sad
second to some of their great two wheel rides. “See the USA in your Chevrolet,”
I thought BSA, and the road being the destination, all day long. Lee Iacocca
once advised “if you can find a better made car, buy it.” So like thousands of
others, we did, we rode. Even those Subaru commercials showing tree hugging
flakes who shouldn’t be allowed to drive, they end in love. How many treat
their motorcycles better than their wife? Kids? Love? We ride, because we
love to, you drive because you are forced to. “Wouldn’t you really rather have
a Buick?” Not after seeing a few stuck in traffic. Packard once advised “ask
the man who owns one.” How many ever ask the man who rides one. GMC tells us
their trucks are industrial grade. Who wants to drive a work truck? For fun?
Datsun, nee Nissan once told us they had “Major motion.” They obviously never
rode a Hayabusa. “Oh what a feeling, Toyota?” Answer me that Ms. Prius after
giving up your manhood for mpg. I’ll show you the feeling... “Not your
father’s Oldsmobile,” ever see a 4 door sedan motorcycle? Station wagon? Maybe
it is better said “not your son’s motorcycle.” “Fine Corinthian leather?” Been
wearing it for years. A Chevy ad in 1969 showing a Corvette, and a 396 Camaro,
brag “we’ll take on any two cars in this magazine.” Notice they didn’t
challenge a motorcycle. And finally a Pontiac, RIP, ad, who used to advise us
“we build excitement.” And they did, with a 1970 GTO ad telling life is what
you make it. We have been making it on two wheels for years. And suddenly I
was home....
Traveling through the south, many churches have signs out front with clever
sayings. They are wanting you to come and visit, to find God, to see Jesus, and
maybe join. An evangelistic tool not seen out here in Cali, but with
entertainment value if nothing else when in the south. “Walmart isn’t the only
saving place.” One church is “prayer conditioned.” One advises “God wants
spiritual fruits, not religious nuts.” A Presbyterian church asks “having
trouble sleeping? Come hear one of our sermons.” Another tells us they “love
hurting people.” Hmmm.... While yet another warns “honk if you love Jesus, text
if you want to meet him.” And finally, “don’t let worries kill you, let the
church help.” Creative, funny, eye catching, and sometimes they work. But sad
to me, for so many have gone the way of the world, trying to come up with ways
to get people to church. When the key to church growth is found in one simple
sentence from scripture, “unless God builds the church, they labor in vain.”
Might as well be stuck in a car on the freeway. You both will get home
eventually, but you will never enjoy the ride. Guess which one will enjoy
it?
Have you ever met anyone who woke up one morning and said “today I am going
to find God.” It is the spirit who is calling us to Jesus, who tells us “you
need Jesus,” and who brings us to answer the knock on the door that is him. Ads
are designed to get you into the store, then it is up to the sales force to make
the sale. But I wonder, what if the saying on the sign is the best part? Like
a movie trailer, 5 seconds of fun, 2 hours to catch up on sleep, at minimum
wage. Yet many are seeking God, and come up short. Fancy sayings, programs,
and events are not bad things, but when the entertainment is over, people leave,
just like after the movie ends. It takes the spirit to save, but then to also
guide and provide. Salvation comes once and is instantaneous, we have a
lifetime on earth preparing for heaven. And we never know when we will be
called home. One day stuck in traffic, the next flying the friendly skies of
heaven. So beware of clever come ons, and rely on the spirit. The same Jesus
that saved you, will never leave you, and is always with you. Just don’t try it
in the HOV lane, “honest officer, Jesus is always with me.” Or get ready for
the breathalyzer test.
The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Salvation is not something that
can be fully explained, it must be experienced so you know you are saved. So
the holy spirit can live inside you, and meet your needs. So it is personal,
not religious. The difference may be as simple as being stuck in a car, and of
passing by on a motorcycle. Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the
soul. But the spirit is the wheels that move the soul, and without him life is
a flat tire. With traffic slowing to look at you. Your sin may be causing a
traffic jam, there is no isolated sin, it effects everyone! And you cannot lane
split your way to heaven, Jesus is the only way. Jesus is not about clever
advertising, but about truth and justice. Not the American way like another
visitor who came to earth with powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men.
And who doesn’t have to conceal his identity....yet he is mild mannered. Maybe
the gospel is out there and we are missing it? Is it possible like the Bible
says, “all things work together for those who love the Lord and are called?”
The spirit is calling...are you listening?
Many are called, few are chosen. How will you know where you stand? Go
with Jesus, make no mistake then that you are chosen. Long ago he knew, and has
been seeking you. Lexus may be “the relentless pursuit of perfection,” in
Christ you have to seek no more. You can be riding instead of dreaming. Don’t
pay more for a fancy religion when it is really just a fancy Toyota. Get what
you paid for, and Jesus paid it all. Prices you cannot afford. Cadillac may be
the standard of the world, why not go with the one who created it. If Jesus
gave you two wishes, what would your second one be? Don’t let the first one let
you down.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com