The owners manual for a 1966 Rambler Classic
brags how their new car is “ready for the road,” and thanks to “advanced
engineering,” your new car does not require a prolonged break-in period. It
then goes on for half a page giving detailed instructions on how to break your
new car in correctly. For the first 100 miles keep it under 50 mph, can you
imagine anyone doing that today? Or under 60 for the next 100? In So Cal that
would be a tortuous 3+ hours on the road, being passed by everyone on
skateboards and rollerblades. All except another new car purchaser, observing
the same warnings. But after 25 miles, higher speeds are permissible. I can
remember breaking in my 1981 Kawasaki that way, counting the miles, “all right
100, now I can go 60!” Whoopee! With the next milestone only 90 minutes away,
traffic permitting. Back then we used to read the owner’s manual, it was the
key to a new ride, and after all our hard earned cash from paper routes and
cutting yards we didn’t want to blow it up. We had no idea what a warranty was,
but went by every word printed in the book that came with the car or bike. I
can remember a time with my friend Tom who had just purchased a new Harley
Davidson in 1974, and out on a ride, he checked his oil, it was low, and with no
Harley store in sight, was freaking about what to do. The manual said only
Harley oil, and would I risk the danger of ruining my engine by using another
brand? By the way, Tom was a research doctor,very intelligent and
schooled....by the book. It was only after we would accept full responsibility
for any damage from a non-Harley oil did he top it off, and changed it
immediately the next day with proper oil. Today I do break in miles for Triumph
motorcycles press fleet. I have found my own way to break them in, haven’t lost
one yet, and can even tell when a motor starts to loosen up. How some are
better than others, which the average owner would never know because he cannot
go from one to another. But even some fail despite advanced engineering, and
even though they appear ready for the road, the road can be a cruel teacher.
How good a student are you depends on...
Jesus tells us to go and make disciples, to
teach and reinforce a new believer, who are a target after being saved. It is
the job of the spirit to save, we get it backwards many times, thinking we save,
and then go on to the next conquest. If I spend a few minutes meeting a new
friend in Christ, I can tell how well or not they were discipled after being
saved. How they react to teaching, to tests, and when hard times come, how they
react, or over react. Although we are all given the same owner’s manual upon
salvation, many read it to their benefit, and ultimately their downfall. My
earliest teaching were from 2 Corinthians 4:
7
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is
from God and not from us. 8
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be
revealed in our body.” It helped me
with losing a job, having so called friends desert me, and having to deal with
those who made fun of me, and my Jesus. In some versions the jars of clay are
referred to as cracked pots, and how appropriate that was. And still is. With
the “but not destroyed” part being the blessing I needed to remind me of how
Jesus loved me. And how he had everything under control. It was important to
us of how Jesus was portrayed by us, so we took great pains to live a moral
life, which often brought ridicule, and left me out of some fun things. But it
was all worth it, as those proper break in miles when first saved built a strong
foundation in faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Which last some 40 years later.
Broken in, not broken. I know the difference.
Paul goes on to write,
“16 Therefore we do not lose
heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet
inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and
momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them
all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is
unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal.” I find that when my eyes are focused on Jesus, and I look
to the spirit to guide me daily, my spiritual eyes that is, for it is the unseen
things of the spirit that is eternal. When I look at my current situation it may seem hopeless,
but in Christ the job loss, the going broke, the broken bike or car, the open
heart surgery, or death of a loved one becomes just that, a momentary light
affliction. And Paul would know, this book was written while in chains in
prison, having an eye problem, and after surviving many beatings. What
momentary light affliction can God help you with
today?
When
is the last time you referred to your owner’s manual? Do you read it to learn,
or to be closer to Jesus? Are you seeking the spirit to guide, or fulfilling a
pledge to read thorough it in a year? Reading it more and getting it less,
maybe the same spirit that introduced you to Jesus, that inspired Paul and
others to write, that was present at the beginning of creation and gave the
earth form is just waiting for you to invite him in. To guide, comfort,
counsel, to give meaning to the Bible, and make the scriptures come alive. And
then to get out and let your light shine as we are told to do, not keep it under
a basket in church. Are you still living a life in a break in miles mode, or
have you passed it, and as Pastor Fred Z. says “go full throttle for Jesus.”
Funny thing in the Rambler owner’s manual, there are no warnings, much different
than from today’s book. Was that part of the advanced engineering? Did you
realize how advanced your engineering is in Christ? For only he died and rose
again, and we will too. Not a rebuild, but as a new person, a new body, and a
new home. No aftermarket parts, no threat of a non-Harley oil. And God does it
without all the fancy terms used back then, such as “life guard safety tires, a
flash-o-matic transmission, a Powr-guard battery, cruise command, and an
adjust-o-tilt steering wheel.” All fancy names to inspire, but again a
paragraph stating to buy your oil from a Rambler dealer. To ensure maximum
protection. All taken care of by the holy spirit in our lives. We don’t need
fancy names, we need only one, Jesus.
So
go back to when you first believed, spend time with Jesus and let him rekindle a
flame that may be flickering. Maybe seal up a cracked pot or two. He
understands about being struck down, but also about not being destroyed. When
we can see the invisible, we are able to do the impossible in Christ. For it is
true, the things seen are temporal, but the things unseen are eternal. Walk and
live in the same spirit that saved you, we may appear as a crack pot to the
world, but we have this treasure called the holy spirit within.
The
booklet for the Rambler welcomes you to the family of American Motors owners. It
tells you that it will need care and consideration that it deserves to work
properly. Maybe a quote form Jesus, if it works for cars and motorcycles, which
can be seen, can you imagine what the spirit the invisible spirit can do for
you?
Next
week, protective maintenance. And how you should keep oil in your lamps to keep
them burning, and oil in your engine so it won’t! All found in your owner’s
manual...
love
with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com