Driving Christianity

There's very few people that, on a consistent basis at a personal level, can cause you to "lose it", to the point that you feel horrible in regards to your walk with Christ. Young kids whose attitudes and behaviors would suggest they are out-of-control teens, rather than elementary age. Out-of-control teenagers, who you fear will one day get a rude wake-up call by the world, for which they desperately need but have no idea how badly it will set them straight. And God help us, should it not be enough to set them straight.

There's the irritating co-worker, an adjective that describes their best days on the job. Perhaps it's a boss who is dead-set on making your life (or that of the company or division) miserable to no end for any number of reasons. That sounds like a lot of people as a group, but on an individual basis, it's not that many. And I dare say, most people don't have one of each, all at the same time, although it probably happens all-too often for a season.

So who is there anyone left? Yes, there is one more group. Traffic.

I heard the story of a mom, teaching her kid about traffic lights.

Red means stop. Yellow means slow; caution. And green means...

And before she could finish, the child interrupts.

Green means "GO! #*(^&*@)!$   (character count not representative of actual word)  Humor that hits too close to home?

I love driving, and Friday was one of those days, where I had my fair share of "what in the world were you thinking" moments with other drivers. The "Darwin Award" goes to the SUV driver, who from the left lane of the thru-lanes where they are building new overpasses, cut off the semi truck in front of me, to catch the off-ramp to the freeway interchange at the last minute.  It was so last minute, that at what I can only imagine had to be 80mph or more, came within a couple feet, at best, of the crash barrier. If that weren't enough, to avoid hitting that, because of the rate of speed, the driver ended up cutting off a full-size truck already exiting the ramp. There wasn't much room left there either.

I about had a heart-attack. All of that to say, we talk about sharing our faith while living in the real world. We talk about responding in love and truth to those we disagree with on various topics. Then there are times when peoples actions and statements cause us to respond in ways that do not reflect well on our faith. I know. I have responded in those ways. I have been the cause of those responses as well, sadly enough.

It may not seem like much as to how we engage the community unless you are prone to hand gestures while driving, but how we respond to something as short-term and trivial, (right up to the point of an accident) as driving shows just how quick irritations can lead to rash statements and judgements. We don't know these people, yet somehow on the road, we think otherwise.

In the end, though, peoples' behaviors behind the wheel show just how selfish we can be. And our reactions show just how important it is that our opinion be heard concerning a person, over God's.  None of that changes just one important fact.

We are all still sinners in need of a Savior.

Pray, this #communitySaturday, for God's grace and forgiveness as we consider and reflect upon our attitudes towards the world and the statements we make regarding their behaviors. May God help us, be slow to speak, slow to become angry, slow to make rash judgements and render opinions based on minutes, perhaps mere seconds of observations from a distance. However brief the encounter, may the body of Christ exemplify the character of Christ, for the glory of God. In hopes that one by one, we would win some, for the cause of Jesus Christ and the advancement of the Gospel.  

Drawn to Christ. Driven to Love. In all we say. In all we do. Everywhere we go.

- PNC

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