The Bungee Cord

Hello,

On my return from my recent trip to the Midwest, I was about 150 miles from home, and a red light appeared on my dashboard. The light was in the shape of an oil can, and under the light were the words, “Oil service needed.” I started pressing buttons to try and figure out the cause of the alert. I have been driving this car for about a year now, and I have yet to know how to manage the buttons and the touch screen. So, there I was cruising along at 70 mph with trucks and cars hemming me in, bewildered and wondering if at any moment my engine might explode. I couldn’t just pull over, and the nearest exit was miles away. I kept pushing buttons, and the alert still lit on my dash. Finally, I got to a screen that was monitoring my oil, and it said “Oil Level OK.”

WHAT?!?!? If the oil level is ok, why the alarm? Was something being misread? Was there some other problem? By this time, I came upon a rest stop. I pulled off, stopped my car, and began pushing buttons again to try and have the car tell me what the oil level was. Sure enough, the oil level was ok. After performing the check, the red light turned into a yellow light, “Oil Service Needed”. Still confused, I decided that if the light was yellow, I would just press on, hoping that I would make it home without ruining my car.

And I did! I called the Mini dealer and made an appointment to address the warning light. “Just bring it in,” they said. That is why I am sitting here in the service department writing this Bungee Cord. Apparently, what my car was telling me was merely that I needed an oil change. A lot of bluster for something so routine.

I have found the same thing happening as I cruise through life. Suddenly a red warning light goes off: “trouble at work”, trouble at home”, “trouble with friends”, “trouble with God”. “Service Needed!” My response to these life alarms is the same as my response to my car alarms; I start pushing buttons trying to figure out just what the problem is. The answers are unclear, and panic starts to set in. I push on, hoping that whatever is wrong won’t ruin my life. Finally finding some sort of rest stop, I quit pushing buttons, put my hands together, and give God a call.

“Just bring it in.” That is why I find myself sitting in a pew in God’s service center every week. Sometimes I discover that alarm that the world set off was far greater than the problem and changing the corrosive words that had been going through my head with the life renewing word of divine forgiveness is all I needed. In such cases, find myself almost laughing at how the bluster of the world becomes quieter than a whisper when Jesus speaks.

Of course, there are times in life when the situation calls for a loud alarm. Life can hit pretty hard, and we can mess things up pretty badly. When this happens and we cry out to God, God responds with the same words, “Bring it in”. And that is when God does major work on our lives. He begins with changing the fearful words in our minds with, “I am with you and I won’t leave you. You need not fear.” And then to cement those words, he unites himself with us. “This is my body…this is my blood…for you.” Jesus grabs ahold of us from the inside. “I’ve got you. We will make it through, together!”

It may be that when we leave that repair shop we might feel like we are still sputtering, but Jesus goes with us promising to keep working on our lives until we are renewed with hope, until we shake the dust off of the mess that has been clinging on, and until we fearlessly step on the gas pedal singing a song of thanks and praise.

“Just bring it in.”

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Like

Comment

Share