Max here - this is an article I wrote for our church paper a few years ago. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Years ago we had a church in our area that had an interesting message on the kiosk in the front yard. It said, “Don’t treat your faith like a spare tire in the trunk, only to be used in time of emergency”. The first few times I drove by the church, I did not think much of it. However, one snowy day when traffic was slow, I passed the church again. All of a sudden, I got it. That was exactly the way that I had been treating my faith. It was in the trunk, out of the way, to be used in time of emergency.
I had not thought about that kiosk for years until last summer when I was at an Alpha conference in the Twin Cities. During one of the talks, the pastor told of Christians who were “CEC Christians” – Christmas, Easter and Crisis. That was me for years. My faith was something that I practiced for an hour or so on some Sundays, Christmas, Easter and when I was in trouble.
I made a commitment to myself and to God that I was going to take my faith out of my truck and put it under the hood of my life. Rather than use it only in emergencies and special occasions, it was going to drive everything I did in my life. It was out in front of me. It was now the heart of everything I did in my life. Could I still use it in emergencies? Absolutely - but also for so much more.
Having your faith under the hood does not mean that it will not run out of gas – it will. However, we are given the opportunity to keep our tank filled up by daily reading of the word, frequent prayer time, fellowship with other Christians, and yes, worship time on Sunday morning.
I think it is good for all of us to determine what location our faith is in. Is it hidden behind us to be used as a last resort? Or is in front of our lives, driving us in everything that we do.
Thank you to whomever in that church put that kiosk up years ago that planted this seed in my heart.
Years ago we had a church in our area that had an interesting message on the kiosk in the front yard. It said, “Don’t treat your faith like a spare tire in the trunk, only to be used in time of emergency”. The first few times I drove by the church, I did not think much of it. However, one snowy day when traffic was slow, I passed the church again. All of a sudden, I got it. That was exactly the way that I had been treating my faith. It was in the trunk, out of the way, to be used in time of emergency.
I had not thought about that kiosk for years until last summer when I was at an Alpha conference in the Twin Cities. During one of the talks, the pastor told of Christians who were “CEC Christians” – Christmas, Easter and Crisis. That was me for years. My faith was something that I practiced for an hour or so on some Sundays, Christmas, Easter and when I was in trouble.
I made a commitment to myself and to God that I was going to take my faith out of my truck and put it under the hood of my life. Rather than use it only in emergencies and special occasions, it was going to drive everything I did in my life. It was out in front of me. It was now the heart of everything I did in my life. Could I still use it in emergencies? Absolutely - but also for so much more.
Having your faith under the hood does not mean that it will not run out of gas – it will. However, we are given the opportunity to keep our tank filled up by daily reading of the word, frequent prayer time, fellowship with other Christians, and yes, worship time on Sunday morning.
I think it is good for all of us to determine what location our faith is in. Is it hidden behind us to be used as a last resort? Or is in front of our lives, driving us in everything that we do.
Thank you to whomever in that church put that kiosk up years ago that planted this seed in my heart.
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