I think there’s a redneck in all of us…What do I mean by that? Well, what would you expect to see in the front yard but a non working motor vehicle and the corresponding motor hanging on an engine hoist? So maybe I don’t mean this literally, but figuratively. If you equate your soul with the chassis and the engine with your heart, we’re getting somewhere here with my analogy. Seems to me-and I mainly speak of myself here, feel free to include yourself if anything seems all too familiar, though-that we may realize that we have a heart problem, which causes our souls to malfunction and maybe even try to fix it ourselves at some point, but like that dismantled car, we may never finish the job. We may get lazy and sit on our smelly couch with our six packs and cheese doodles watching our favorite ball game and occasionally glance outside to make sure the car is still there, all be it in pieces and none functioning and go back to what is easier: nothing.
To put this in spiritual terms: we realize that we have a heart problem where we put something or someone else on the throne of our hearts, making that our idol to worship instead of God who should take His rightful place there. When we realize it, we may try to fix it ourselves, by reading self help books, attending classes, and attempting to repair what’s broken. But just like with that broken down vehicle in our yard, we may tire of it and leave it just like it is for decades, maybe even for the rest of our lives. Instead we should call the tow truck and have the master mechanic do a complete restoration of the engine and its component and put it all back in working order so it is useable again, as intended. And actually, this is a hotrod shop so he’ll throw in some nitrous to get us out of trouble as needed. And we’ll need it when temptation creeps up on us. Hit the switch (=call on God) to get us out of there ASAP. So if we would just get over our pride and call the one (and only) who can fix us from the inside out for good we’d be back in business, better than before. Our pride is what keeps us in that broken state we are in. We think we can handle our weaknesses ourselves, we can put on a coat of paint and we’ll look like we’re ok. But underneath everything is crumbling, we are useless and failing. Certainly a far cry from living the victorious life Jesus spoke of. Unless we let Jesus deal with our heart we will never be effective in our Christian walk. It’s a matter of the heart. Visible sin stems from invisible sin. Any sin that people see in us was birthed in a sinful heart. The desire of the heart is where our problem is. And that is where the great physician comes in. God has made a way for us to be restored unto him. That’s the whole idea of grace and salvation. That’s why Jesus died on the cross for our sins, yes; even those that have not yet shown themselves in actions, but only live in our thoughts and desires. Jesus knows our heart, and he is the only one who can fix it. So let’s haul our useless and broken down hearts to him for restoration. Thank you Jesus for being on call 24 hours a day and for footing the bill for the job. There’s absolutely nothing I can give in exchange other than my heart. And that’s all he wants. Man, this is an awesome story, isn’t it?
Who knew that talking about a car on blocks and an engine hoist would get me so fired up?
Amen to that and Yeehaw!
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