Tags
Christ, christianity, examine yourself, God, Jesus Christ, redemption, repentance, truth of the matter, Worship
I recently had to replace the starter in my car. Being as independent as I tend to be, and also being poor, as I am, it was a foregone conclusion that I would perform this task myself rather than hiring it out to someone else. Giving due diligence I researched via the internet, YouTube, etc. to discover what changing the starter on my particular vehicle entailed. After viewing instructions from multiple sources it became apparent that the task at hand was quite involved. It would require the removal of some of the air filtration system, the throttle body, and the exhaust manifold, plus several hose connectors, clamps, etc., all just to expose the starter component for removal.
Needless to say I did not relish the thought of removing all those parts as it opened up the potential for things breaking, gaskets possibly needing to be replaced, and who knows what else. So, I determined in my mind that I would do it differently. I would perform the task from some other angle- there simply had to be a different (read better) way to do it. So, back to the research it was. I scoured the internet for examples of ways to change my starter without removing all the other parts and pieces. And sure enough, I would come across an obscure reference here and there where someone seemingly had indeed been able to perform the task in a different manner.
With each potential alternative method additional problems or requirements would appear. Most of the time these tended towards causing more issues than the tried-and-true method mentioned at the onset. A few of the methods would actually prove to be false if you can believe that- something untrue on the internet, who would have thought it possible. Still I was determined to find a better way, an easier way, a way less painful to bring about the needful change. I delayed performing the task for days, putting it off to some obscure time in the future… Yes, I was going to change my starter, just not at this present moment. All the while I would have to alter my schedule, or that of my wife, so I could use her car. Sometimes I would even recklessly drive my car just hoping against hope that it would start when I needed it to. All this due to my obstinate, prideful attitude. (And maybe laziness?) How much more difficult I was making things for myself the entire time.
Finally the moment arrived, I simply had to change the starter. I decided to watch another last minute video outlining the standard method of executing the task. What a disaster that video was, every time the mechanic touched a part to remove it, the piece broke and required replacement. Great! A confidence booster. Resigned to my fate I opened the hood, readied my tools, and got to work employing the original mentioned method as there truly was no other option.
The task went flawlessly. Every part came off; gaskets were reusable, as were the clamps and clips; nothing broke. And conversely every part went back on, or reconnected fine. And the car actually started, and has continued to do so since. As I have considered the event now removed by a few days. I realize that my desire to find some alternate way of changing the starter is very much like every mans quest to find some other way to God, or to eternal life, or even heaven. We search and search for some other path forward, some easier way in. When all the while the most direct, the simplest, the ONLY way is right before us. There is one path leading to God, the True God. There is one door that opens into heaven. There is one entrance into eternal life… And these are all found in the man Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. He being the Son of God is the ONLY Way, the ONLY Truth and the ONLY eternal Life with which to secure these needful things.
The adversary of our very souls and enemy to God deceives us into thinking that the ONLY way is in fact the worse way. Just as my thinking the one best way to change the stater was the worst possible way to do so. And yet, once I relented, it was indeed the best way. And after having done it I realized there really was no other way to do it that did not require a great deal more work. The adversary had convinced me for years that coming to Christ would be a disaster, my life would be over, I would lose so much. And it was. Don’t get me wrong, the devil is a liar and so everything he told me was in one way or another a lie, or at least distorting of the truth. When I surrendered my life to Christ it was a disaster… My entering into covenant with Jesus was a disaster for all the plans the adversary and sin had for my life. I was at that very moment delivered from all the bondage my sin had me in, I was liberated, I was truly SET FREE. Also, my life was indeed over, that is, that old life of living as a slave to every desire, every harmful impulse, that life was over. That ‘old man’ actually died and through the resurrecting power of Jesus I was made a ‘new man’ now actually alive. Alive in Jesus as it is now Jesus that lives in me. I did lose so much. I lost fear, doubts, uncertainties, worries. I lost hopelessness and purposelessness. I gained a tremendous sense of being loved and the ability to actually return that love. I found purpose in and for my life. I was given hope and joy and peace of mind like I had never experienced before. I entered into a relationship with One who will never leave me, never forsake me, and who loves me more than any other person I have ever known. And all I had to do was relent to the truth.
The truth, if we will admit it, is ever before us. We need only seek it out. We need only seek out Jesus. We are told in Scripture if we will seek Him out He will be found.
Where do I go? Where do I look? The best place to start is the Bible, go there, look there.
Out of His Treasure Things New and Old 