Tuesday, May 4, 2010
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He was five years old. His mommy wasn't feeling well, and so she was taking a nap. His little two-year-old sister wanted an ice cream cone, so he did what Mommy would do. He picked up the car keys Mommy had left on the kitchen table and took his little sister out to the car and put her in the back seat. Then he proceeded to climb into the driver's seat, turn on the car and somehow start driving. (This is a true story.) Then Mr. Five-Year-Old pulled out onto the main thoroughfare at the corner. Thankfully, a police officer saw the car going by apparently without a driver. That got his attention! He pursued the mystery car and managed to get the driver to pull over. Needless to say, there was one shocked policeman when he opened the door and saw a little boy at the wheel. I'd say it's a good thing he stopped him.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Obsessed With Driving."
That little guy was never meant to drive. Just like you and me. As tough as it may be to deal with, you and I were never meant to be the one driving our life. The One who gave you your life is supposed to be driving your life. In the words of the Bible, we were "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). There's a fundamental reason that we continue to wonder what the purpose of our life is and why it doesn't have the meaning we want it to have; a fundamental reason that no relationship, no accomplishment or experience, or even religion has filled the hole in our heart. It's the reason we continue to end up feeling lonely and lost. We insist on driving our life when God was supposed to.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 53:6, the Bible says: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way." The result is described a little later in a subsequent chapter: "Your sins have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). Here we are, cruising down the road without the One we were made by and made for. That explains so much of our frustration, and our hurt, and even the times we've crashed - all because we are obsessed with driving.
You may be, by nature, a strong person, a self-reliant person. And that can be good. You've had to make it on your own; you've have to figure things out on your own. And maybe you've done a pretty good job of it. Then God comes along and says, "If you want your life to work, if you want to have a relationship with Me, you have to let go of the wheel." You'll go to some of God's meetings, you believe God's beliefs, maybe even contribute to some of God's causes, but you're not about to let go of the wheel.
In the same verses that talk about us going our own way, God goes on to say, "The Lord has laid on Him (that's God's Son, Jesus) the iniquity (or the wrong doing) of us all...the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him." Jesus actually went to a cross to absorb all the guilt and the hell of all our wrongdoing so we could be forgiven and reunited with the God who made us; so we could make it into His heaven when we die. If there was something you or I could do to make it with God, there's no way He would have sent His Son to go through what He did when He died for us. It was the only way. It's your only way.
But you have to let go of the wheel, and this is one thing you cannot do on your own. You and I are dying spiritually, and Jesus is the Rescuer who's come to save us. You'll have to abandon trusting in yourself to let go and trust the Man who died and rose again for you. If you insist on hanging onto the wheel of your life, you will ultimately drive it over the cliff of an eternity away from God. And if you've got a family or people who follow you, you may even take others with you.
Today, the God who made you, the God who gave His Son for you, is saying to you, "Let go of the wheel so I can take your life where I meant for it to go when I made you." The release of that wheel will result in the greatest peace you have ever experienced, because the One who was supposed to drive will finally be driving. It begins when you say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
I would love to help you begin your life-changing relationship with Him. If you'll visit us at our website, you'll find there a brief explanation of how this all happens; of how it all begins. The website is YoursForLife.net.
The greatest tragedy in life would be if you go into eternity with your hands still stubbornly hanging onto the wheel. Because only Jesus can drive you where you want to end up.