Some things that we take for granted are disappearing before our very eyes,
with no mention of it. Kids in school aren’t taught to write cursive anymore,
cannot count without a calculator, cannot tell time from a watch with hands, and
don’t know any phone numbers when their i-pod crashes. But the one I have
noticed lately is the car trunk, with Ford pulling out of autos, and SUV’s and
minivans the norm, soon we will have a generation who doesn’t know what a car
trunk is, or was. Maybe it started with the hatchbacks, subtly allowing the
rear seats to fold down, station wagon owners never had one, and today where do
you hide your valuables after shopping, where no one can look inside to see?
Trunks were marvelous things, my Grandpa’s Cadillac filled with hidden toys for
Christmas, a refuse for Mafia enemies until the river, and a place where your
friends could hide to sneak into the drive-in, another word gone. Seems at one
time the manufacturers bragged about the size of the trunk, race car batteries
were moved there, and all makes even had that same spattered paint interior,
with the plaid plastic mat, unless you drove a Caddy or Lincoln with carpet,
even a spare tire cover. Car designers made it a design issue, and how many of
us tried to fit in it when we installed the rear speakers to our 8-track in the
package tray. Another item missing and forgotten. From big trunks of Cadillacs
to the joke of a trunk in Mustangs, they served us well....and are soon to be
forgotten.
If you remember the first Corvettes were trunkless, but soon had one. Only
to disappear, then go the hatchback route. Long hood, short trunk styling, not
the same three box styling of today. But glimpses of the missing trunk are
showing up, with hidden compartments for goodies, even hiding a storage area
under the rear seat of an SUV. But with no trunk comes the problem of where to
put the spare, hide it underneath where it is forgotten until needed, and low on
air, call AAA. Some cars have the inflatable spare, a mini-spare, or no spare
at all. Run flat tires, no jack needed, maybe the disappearing trunk touches
our lives more than we think. But also with the trunk disappearing, no more
round headed keys to open it, maybe I’ll just push the remote and go stare into
Theresa’s Mustang for a minute, just to remember, of course. Of course if you
ride, none of this matters...
But on today’s big touring models, trunks are a big deal. Harley offers
two styles, pizza or ice cream. New Gold Wings whole rear area, aka trunk is
detachable. So maybe those of you who treasure trunks will have an alternative
in motorcycles. But for the most part trunks are a thing of the past, swimming
trunks are now board shorts even, and soon we will be back to the days when only
elephants had trunks. And motorcycles weighed less than 500 pounds, gas was
under a buck, you could look forward to eating at McDonald’s and you could tell
time by where Mickey’s big hand was. The day he goes digital, Walt Disney rolls
over in his grave....
But mostly a car trunk was a place to hide and store things. Believe it or
not the Bible speaks of this place, and calls it the heart, or soul. We tend to
buy and look at the exterior, never looking inside, where the we spend most of
the time while driving. But God sees things differently and looks at the heart
of man, and judges us accordingly. Many years ago a pastor and friend from
Texas told of his early Christian days as a struggling pastor. He was all about
Jesus, and his contemporaries were all going to TV and radio. From humble
beginnings they had become enamored by all the things money could buy, even
joking how the programs were great places to make money in the name of Jesus.
Some billionaires with their own jets, a huge following and somehow losing the
vision God had given them, their hearts being exposed for who and what they
are. My friend walked away before getting carried away, and lives a great life,
free from the burden they created. God sees the heart, the motives, and
desires. Just ask a couple who promised Jesus something, to garner attention
and praise, then did otherwise. Ananias and Saphira were active in the early
church, and when other were giving up evil things, or donating goods to meet the
needs of others, they joined in. Like the man who stands up and donates money
anonymously, they made a big fuss about themselves, and when they didn’t
deliver, as per their plan, God smote them dead. As a reminder to a young
church of the sins of the love of money, and how jealous he is for us to have
all the things of God, not of the world. In their heart, they thought they
could hide their evil in a trunk, but God had the keys and saw inside. Today
many things are taught about Ananias and Saphira and money, when it was really
about a condition of the heart. God warns us the heart is deceitful, what
things are you hiding in your trunk that only God can see?
But this year we are seeing evil being promoted and exposed like never
before. Even inside the church where he is separating the sheep from the
goats. The goats the church folk who in Matthew 25 did all the right things to
be seen, but inside were rotten in God’s eyes. From pastors to lay people,
Jesus sees the heart and asks us to repent. To his way of living, not a
denomination or pastor’s. To be forgiven, for the day is coming when all sin
will be revealed, when our sin will find us out, and if not saved, not in Jesus,
it will be destruction. You may have a trunk load of money, but it won’t get
you into heaven. Jesus even made it plain when he said if you do things for
public adoration, you lose the blessing in heaven. Many things appear good, but
may not be holy.
So let the spirit unlock the trunk of your heart today, let the fresh air
of the gospel in. Check the air in the spare, maybe clean out all the junk
inside. If you have one, a trunk that is. The rest of you, your SUV sin is
already being exposed, you may not know it. Tinted windows make us wonder....so
repent while you still can. We are living in the days when only Harleys and
elephants have trunks, don’t hide your light in one. Don’t you, a trunk load
of blessings is waiting for you....for the heart of a Christian is also a place
where God inhabits. Only he has the key...won’t you let him in? Don’t let
Jesus be just another thing that comes and goes.
With only one question to consider, both VW’s and Corvairs had engines in
the rear where the trunk should be, is it still considered a trunk if it’s in
the front? It is on an elephant....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com