Faith in a Prius

In this episode of Balancing the Christian Life, we talk about being devoted to God. Welcome to Balancing the Christian Life. I'm Dr Kenny Embry. Join me as we discover how to be better Christians and people in the digital age. So I got this call from my son, jake. Usually when I get these kind of calls, I know they're not good. It was about 6 o'clock pm on a Friday night and I knew Jake was supposed to be getting off work soon. Hey, dad, something's going on with the car. What's it doing? I asked. Well, it's sort of shaking. I mean, it's kind of drivable, but not really. It started on the highway but I was able to pull it into a gas station here. Can you hear it? Well, I couldn't. When I suspected, whatever it was, the news wasn't going to be great. My wife looked at me and asked so what are you going to do? I don't know that. We have many options, I said. I drove out to where Jake was, in a gas station parking lot, and I saw what he was trying to describe the car was shaking uncontrollably. I'm not a mechanic, but I know this wasn't good. So I began thinking about all the phone calls this would take. I'd need a tow truck, but not tonight, because my garage doesn't take cars after hours. I'd need to schedule that We'd need a rental car, but Friday night wasn't the time to reserve one. However, the airport had a 24-hour rental car desk so I could get one there, but that meant a two-hour round trip. I sort of went into autopilot, solving problems in the order they needed to be solved. The problem car is my 2010 red Toyota Prius with about 250,000 miles on it. It's not a sexy car, but it has been an extremely reliable one. It always starts, it gets great gas mileage, but cars were out. There's a time when you're sending good money after bad, and I was wondering if this was that time. On Monday, my guys down at the repair shop confirmed my amateur suspicion it was a blown head gasket. Again, I don't know anything about cars, but I knew this was one of the more expensive repairs and I also knew this was going to be a big decision. Was I done with my Prius or did I need to give this car another chance? There's a metal math you have to do at times like this and I wasn't sure what the right answer was. As Christians, we need to understand brokenness. Specifically, we need to understand our brokenness. I've talked to several people who stress that God fixes our brokenness, and I agree. But that formula only works when you take God up on his offer. A broken car and a broken person both need fixing, but how broken things get fixed depends entirely on who you belong to. Unlike my car, we need to recognize how bad off we truly are. Look, you're a wreck and it's important that you see that You've done something far worse than blow a head gasket. You're a sinner and you can't fix that, I know. Compared to your friends and family, you're pretty good and maybe even excellent, but there's something in you that is truly broken. You didn't inherit it and it wasn't put into you, but you know there have been things where you know the right thing to do and you didn't do it. On one hand, that's horrible news, because the law you broke isn't yours and the price you have to pay is high. On the other hand, this is excellent news, because God came for broken people. God came for you. God paid the high price so that you can be fixed, and not fixed in the sense that you're never going to have problems again, but fixed in the sense that the solution to sin is always with you. Look, God favors family specifically, god favors people who are devoted to Him, not perfect in action, but devoted in heart. There's a huge difference between those two things. When God is simply covering over my sin, when God is overlooking terrible decisions, then we can get to the point where we feel like we belong in what I call revolving door Christianity. The relationship you have with God is based on how well you have lived your life, and as good as you do that, as perfect as today might be, or as good as you are in doing Christianity, it's not enough. Can God keep you from sinning? Well, yes, but as a Christian, you will still sin. Yes, it's important you try to send less because you are grateful for God who has fixed the broken relationship, but you are not sinless. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, said God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Yeah, that's a lot. But what does it mean? Well, it means because we are devoted to God. God is devoted to us. He saves us, not because we're good, but because he loves us. He's in a relationship with us. So what do we do as a result? Well, in imperfect ways, we do good works, and those good works don't earn us this relationship. We are in his family because he chose us and we accepted. God knows our flaws and as long as we have faith, as long as we trust him, he will remain devoted to us. So the bad news is we're terribly broken and the good news is our owner is God and he still claims us. He claims us even if we're broken with a busted head gasket. As a car owner, I learned a long time ago it doesn't make much sense to become sentimental about cars, computers or cell phones. They all wear out after a while. You will be back in the market for a new one sooner than you probably want to be, because these are all replaceable. Newer cars are generally better cars because they have fewer problems. Yeah, I know you're thinking about the car you had in the past that you wish you had again, but in general, today's cars have better safety features, are more fuel efficient and have better features overall. But God isn't like that. In Luke 15, jesus tells three short parables one of a lost sheep, one of a lost coin and one of a lost son. The story of the prodigal son is a story most of us know. That's my opinion. The story is primarily about the older brother depicted in the last third of the story. If you're familiar with this story, you know the younger son takes the money his dad is planning to give the boys for an inheritance and he wastes it on some pretty poor choices, including prostitutes. And when the younger brother sinks about as low as he can go, when he blows the head gasket, he decides to try. Coming back home, limping back useless and worthless, but that's not the way his dad saw him at all. His dad gives him new clothes and welcomes him back to the family. However, the older brother sees all the fuss his dad is making and begins pouting that he never had this kind of attention given to him. He has worked faithfully for his dad, even while this younger son was wasting his inheritance and his family's reputation. The older brother is making a good case for works-based Christianity, but the father tells the older son it's the relationship that is important. The younger son has decided to once again be devoted. He came home and that is worth celebrating. What the Father doesn't say is the younger Son was welcomed not because he be paved well, but because he accepted the grace of His Father. God sees value in us, even when we don't. He loves us even when we are unlovable, like my car, which I rely on for transportation. God doesn't need us, he wants us, he loves us. He is devoted to us when we are devoted to Him. So I was doing the metal math in my head for the possible repair when I talked to my guy. Not only does he fix hybrids like mine, but he owns a dealership focused primarily on Priuses. I asked Him what he would do in my situation. Well, he said in situations like this, it's almost always better to fix what you've got than buy another. This surprised me. You don't think this would be throwing good money after bad? I asked no, he said Look, I sell these cars all the time. There's one coming on the lot tomorrow with over 500,000 miles on it and I know it will sell because I've sold them before. Most people get bored with their cars before they truly wear out. You will almost always come out ahead fixing what you've got than getting something new. The car you brought in has a major problem, but we can fix it for about half the cost of replacing it and I can get you another 10 or 15 years out of that one. I didn't expect Him to say that. It made me feel like he was being honest about my choice. I think it also made me think more about my little red Prius. I hadn't put many repairs on it and it had served me well, so I decided to get it fixed and I still feel a little strange about that choice. I mean, I knew the track record of the car, I knew the track record of this guy and how he had always treated me well, and I knew what he was telling me made sense. But I still feel like I was putting a lot of faith in both the car and the guy. Could this turn out badly? Could I be making the wrong decision? I don't know, but I do have faith. Faith in God and faith in my car and a repairman aren't the same thing in one way, but in another way it's very similar. God has always required faith of His followers. In Hebrews 11, we are told of so many characters who simply had to trust God to come through on His promises and make things good. Abraham had three important promises given to him and he didn't see them fulfilled during his lifetime. Yes, he had a son, but he didn't have a great nation. Yes, he moved from his homeland to a place where he owned practically no land at all except some place to bury Sarah. And yes, he was blessed by God. And Abraham blessed others, but not nearly to the extent God seemed to promise. And yet Abraham trusted God because God was trustworthy. God is still trustworthy. God has made great promises to those who are devoted to Him, so our job is to do the next right thing and let God take care of the outcomes. Will my car problems turn out well? Let's be clear I don't think God is as worried about my Priests as I am, but I know God takes care of me. I know the car guy is giving me the best advice he's got and I know if I continue to keep my car maintained, I've at least done the right thing. I'm just going to have to have faith. Frankly, deciding what I can do with what I have where I am is about as good as I can do in anything, and that's all that God has ever expected any of us to do. As for the good thing I'm thinking about, I'm grateful for good friends who remind me of simple truths. Craig Peane has sent me a Sunday text message for years now, and this morning his text focused on hope. I love that. It's nice to be reminded about hope, but it's even better being reminded by someone who is so devoted by God. I'm grateful for that. So until next time, let's be good and do good.