Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen.
Today I had the fun of helping my son with replacing the
breaks on his car. It got me to thinking about faith and my car.
Just like you drive your car often – possibly daily, even –
and just like you take care of your car well…shouldn’t you treat your faith and
your relationship with God in the same way? And shouldn’t your view through the
lens of a Biblical worldview be the vehicle by which you travel this earth?
I want to point out three ways in which faith and cars are
actually quite similar.
1. Just like a car has many parts, God has many facets to
know.
In order to successfully drive a car, you have to know
where key features are, like the gas pedal, the brake pedal, the gas gauge, and
more. It’s the same with your relationship with God; in order to know Him well,
you need to know His characteristics and attributes, and also what He has to sa.
In turn, we need to allow God to search
us and know our hearts in the same way. For example, say you’re driving in the
rain. You need to know where your windshield wiper switch is located so you can
drive safely over wet roads. In your relationship with God, you need to know
how He has handled situations with His people, so that you can trust Him fully
when the going gets rough, knowing that He has outlined your path and made it
straight.
2. Just like we need to prepare our car by filling it with gas
to go places, we need to be spiritually equipped to handle the world around us.
We do this by engaging deeply in the study of God’s Word.
We need to do this because we don’t want to be left high and dry without a
defense of our faith if someone were to question it, or if they were to ask us
why we believe a certain way about certain topics, like homosexuality,
transsexuality, racism, and even more. We should take on David’s attitude when
we store scripture in our hearts: “Your word I have hidden in my heart,
that I
might not sin against You”.
This way, we’ll
be more equipped to share those scriptures when the time comes.
What happens when you’re pulled over on the side of the road,
panicking because you had barely enough gas to get off the highway? You call
for help, of course, whether that means finding a gas station or calling a
loved one. In the same way, we can call upon God whenever we’re in distress and
feel that we can’t navigate a particular situation.
3. Just like we need to be aware of others around us when we
drive, we need to be aware of what’s going on in the world, and what God has to
say about it.
Sometimes, there are drivers on the road who disregard
others around them by speeding, cutting them off on busy intersections, or
generally making them feel uneasy. Should that keep us from the road, though?
No; we just need to be aware of them so that if a situation should arise that
they mistreat us or anyone else by being inconsiderate, we can move on our way
and continue to our respective destinations safely. It’s the same way in real
life; when people mistreat us, we should still continue to be nice to them, or
keep ourselves safe and move on.
In the same way, we need to be aware of our own actions
when it comes to others around us. We don’t need to be in such a hurry as to
completely disregard the needs and safety of others. We need to reach out to
help if and when we can, just as the Good Samaritan helped a complete stranger
and his polar opposite. So, when others show mercy to and are considerate
towards us, we should do as Jesus tells His followers: “Go and do likewise”.
At the end of the day, if we treat our faith in God like we
treat our cars – checking up on it to make sure it’s well cared for and
equipped for the road ahead – we will be able to travel the pathway God has
given us, not only with confidence that He is guiding us, but with Him as the
focus and forefront of our minds and hearts.
Dear Lord, we thank You for faith we have. We pray that we would
work on allowing it to grow stronger and stronger each day. In the Name of Jesus,
Amen.
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