Automobiles and Faith

For Mama Kat's writer's workshop this week, one of the prompts asked what we were passionate about. For me, the answer is simple, I am passionate about my faith in Christ. And most of my followers know that I am pretty passionate about writing. However, I don't know if you all knew this or not, but I went to college to be an automotive technician. That's right, I am passionate about cars! Now, I'm not your normal car nut. I don't go around telling you the size of the engine, and I can't name the make, model and year of a car that is a mile a way (I might be able to tell you how much oil it takes though...). Anyway, there are times where my three passions collide, and this post happens to be one of them.

God has been busy in my life as of late. I am learning all kinds of new things. One of the most important lessons is that Jesus isn't an additive. To explain this, the best analogy that I can possibly come up with is automobiles.

For those of you who don't know the components of a car, it has to have several key components for it to actually be drivable. The body of the car is the exterior, it's just the shell, the body can't run without the key components. It needs a steering wheel, an engine, a transmission, brakes, spark plugs, a distributor, and of course gasoline (among several other things that I won't go into for your sake). Then of course you have optional things, or add-ons or add-ins, like fog lights, cattle guards, lift kits, fuel additives, and the list goes on.

Where does faith fit in here you are wondering? Well, let's say that we are cars. Our body's would be the body of the car, the outer shell. It doesn't make us who we are, it doesn't make us go, it's just where everything is kept (kind of like a temple for those who want the biblical definition). Biblical faith makes up all of the key components that makes our car's go. Our faith should be the engine, the force that makes us go. It should be the steering components, guiding us on our way. God is our transmission, kicking us into the right gear, and He is also our brakes, keeping us from harm and helping us slow down when we are going to fast. Jesus is our spark plugs, providing the fire to ignite our hearts for Him, He is our distributor that distributes the fire and passion to the right place at the right time. The Holy Spirit is the gasoline that fuels the car. The bottom line is that biblical faith isn't optional, it's essential! To accept Christ and declare Him as our Savior, we HAVE to let Him rebuild our car. We have to let Him replace our engine with the one that He has for us, we have to use the fuel that is compatible with the engine He has given us, so that our car will run at the optimal level.

Growing up, I didn't understand all of that. I treated Jesus as more of an add-on to life. I didn't really need Him, but I thought He might make my car run a little better. Kind of like a fuel additive. He wasn't my gas, but something that might help clean things up a bit. The problem is that Jesus doesn't work like that. He isn't some fuel additive that helps things go better for a while, but once it has run it's course things start to get worse again. No Jesus is everlasting, never failing. He isn't some fog lights that help you see better during bad weather, He is more like the daytime running lights that never go out. He's always there to help us see and light the way. Jesus isn't an optional cattle guard that you only need to help you with life's big problems, He is more like the bumper that is there to help soften the blow. He won't stop things completely and ensure a cushy, cozy life, but He is there none the less, and can help you fend off the fears of life. Jesus isn't a lift-kit that helps us sit high above the rest of the world, looking down on them, or flying over the bumps in life with ease. Jesus is the average suspension system. He is there to help absorb the shocks of life, not prevent them. His suspension system puts us at the same level as everyone else, not above or below, but equals.

Where would you say your faith is at? Does it make up your key components, is it your engine, muffler and everything in between, or is it more of an additive that only helps at certain times and is totally and completely optional? No matter what you just answered here, the good news is that Jesus is ready to be your mechanic. He can overhaul your engine, or just help you with minor tune-ups. All you have to do is ask, and then trust Him to do the work.

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