The garage door creaked slowly upward and her true identity was revealed.
No, it’s not what you think…ok, maybe it is. I’m talking about my friend’s car. I have known this lady for 5 years. Somehow, I wasn’t aware of what kind of car she drove. We worked together. I had never thought about her car until today. I had come to her house to do a little cheap decorating and remodeling. The kind where you really don’t spend anything, you just pull things from all over the house to create one really fantastic room. But that’s for a post for another day.
Back to her car. We were headed to the store to gather ideas for all the things we had been talking about doing around her house. It was a lot! Due to distance between our homes and the reality of time, we had to drive separately. I was in my car, adjusting the radio, waiting for her to back out. That’s when I saw with crystal reality that “she was her car” and “I was my car”. I gasped, laughed out loud, and said, “No way” to the empty air.
This spunky, fun, smart, risk-taking, sharp-dressing, classy lady…
drove a lipstick red Dodge Charger. It looked spunky, fun, smart, risk-taking, sharp, and classy all rolled into one package even with the dirt and grime of mid-winter. I wondered what made her love that car? Why did she pick that one? Against the backdrop of a grey sky and dirty snow on the ground, she drove off in her sporty car ready for adventure. The dirt wasn’t noticeable because it looked like so much fun. She followed most of the rules of the road as far as I could tell, but still arrived seconds before me.
Now remember, I was sitting in my car laughing at this turn of events.
Why was I so surprised at the car she had chosen to purchase? Because this smart, calculated, safety-loving, attention deflecting mom of four drives a used blue-grey, dirt-covered, Honda Odyssey mini-van. I can hear the silence. There is no wow factor to a mini-van. But the value is in the eye of the beholder. When I look at that van, I see an awesome safety rating with air bags everywhere. I see comfy seats for 8 with seat warmers for mom and dad. I see a sound plus DVD system that will buy a few minutes of peace and quiet as I drive. It has a roof rack and a hitch so no one has to cry when we don’t have room for their guitar or three foot stuffed doggie once the car is packed for vacation. I see a navigation system that gets us to our destination without stopping in the next inner city for directions and a payment that leaves money to play with when we get there. And my personality follows suit with my driving. I leave enough space for a semi-truck between my car and the one in front of me. I get out and clean the back-up cam if I put the car in reverse and cannot clearly see that no bike or child is in the way. I could noticeably use a car wash almost every day.
So, why is this image of who we are…funny to me? Because it is a physical, tangible part of our friendship. It’s a picture of the individuality and uniqueness God made us with. He didn’t make me to be like her or her to be like me but He made us both in His image. He created me like no one else because He loves me like no one else. He created her like no one else because He loves her like no one else. He would have sent His only son, Jesus, to a brutal death just to save her alone from her sin. Or just to save me. But like I chose that car in my garage, I have to choose to believe Him. I have to choose to trust Him.
Here’s were the analogy shifts. I am making monthly payments on my car. When Jesus died in place of my dirt, grime, and sin… it was a one -time payment. He gave it all, full cash payment for the luxury model, because He chose me. I’m the one he wanted. And He’s more powerful than death so he is alive again. Now I get the eternal life with Him. There is nothing else I have to do.
Well, maybe give him the wheel so he can drive my heart through the car wash and make me clean…
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