Heat, a Car Wash and the values of life

I sat out in my car today to eat lunch…for those who know how hot its been, yes I am a little crazy sometimes.  My car doesn’t have ac so I parked under a tree and put the windows down.  As I sat there in front of a car wash a guy pulled up in a fancy looking red car.  Nice and gleaming bright in the sun.  Looked like it had been washed, professionally detailed, washed again, buffed, touched up and then repeated.  This fella stepped out of his car – at the gas station – took out this special looking bottle of some sort of cleaner (not sure exactly, didn’t see it clear enough) and started to spray certain portions of the front and side of his car.  Then he pulled out this nice looking cloth and wiped in or off the stuff that he sprayed.  Again, not sure exactly what it was but looked spiffy.  Then after he had done all of that, standing out in the heat and taking his time to carefully and delicately wipe with his special cloth…he pulled in to the car wash at the gas station to have his car washed.

What was strange to me was that the car looked in pristine shape.  Either he had just driven it off the lot or else he had taken very good care of it since he did such that it looked brand new still.  It was an impressive looking car.  As he wiped and buffed; however i couldn’t help but to think of the fact that he was spending so much time working on his car that had likely dropped in value the moment he turned it on to drive off the parking lot.  And not only that but every rev of the engine, every pothole, every time the oil pulsed through the engine, every time a light came on at dusk, every time the wind blew, that car was loosing value.  He spent a good 20 minutes of his life (not including the car wash) preparing and caring for something that was losing value by the minute.  You ever think about that?

Henry Scougal said “the worth of a soul is to be determined by the object of its love.”  So true that statement.  I don’t know that fella.  Could be a fine upstanding citizen.  Could have been a  fellow believer.  Could have had a family just as I, working a similar job as I – though i doubt it from the likes of that car – could have been around the same age as I and the likes.  But at that moment the thing that he valued the most (enough to spend 20 – 30 minutes of his day giving care and attention to) was in fact losing value with each moment regardless of how much he wiped or buffed.  The object of his love at that moment, the thing that he chose to spend his time on – meticulously caring for it – was worth-less.

Here is my question.  How much time do you spend on things that are losing value with time?  How much time do you spend on things that depreciate?  Why not spend your time investing in things that gain value?  Perhaps most of you can see the wisdom in that.  Perhaps you’re thinking (though you also spend time buffing and waxing your car on Saturday’s) yeah, maybe I should spend more time on things that appreciate with time…things with a greater value.  What are some things that appreciate?  Your home (not necessarily in this economy), certain musical instruments, gold, the stock market (just threw that in there for kicks), a good education…fairly short list and shaky at best.  Well, what if you spent your time on those things…are they worth it?

What if I told you that those things…even those things that are prized, valuable possessions by most in the world because they are deemed to yield the best over time; in the big scheme of life are still worth-less than your time?  Those things are passing.  The cold, hard reality of life is that you could spend your life chasing those things and drop dead tomorrow to enjoy none of the “fruit” of what you thought was worth your time.  Or you could spend your life chasing those things only to find yourself in a dead end economy where everything is turned upside down.  You could spend your life chasing after those things only to have someone else beat you to it in the end, or else take it from you altogether once you’ve achieved it.  Or, you could even get all of those things…but as so many spend the rest of your life alone, regretting that you hadn’t taken time to care for people and thus alienating yourself from meaningful relationships (take a look around at those who “have it all,” are they really happy, or are they riding the next high until they have one too many and are snubbed out?)

What is your soul worth?  I can tell you what its worth by what you spend the most of your time thinking on, pursuing, talking about and dreaming of.  The reality of life is this…”the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”  The earth and its works will be burned up.  Whatever you are pursuing in this life that is not eternal will be burned up.  If it is not associated with Jesus Christ, then it will be consumed by the purifying fires of God’s judgment.  He has judged the world and it is lacking.  Its been hot in Maryland.  But that’s nothing in comparison to what is coming to the world and its works.  Don’t waste your life.

Mark 8:36-37  

36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?  37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

2 Peter 3:10-14 

“the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.  11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,  12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!  13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.  14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless”

Death

Death is never easy.  In fact, it can be devastating.  As a Christian, I believe that God never intended for death to be such a part of life.  In the very beginning when He created man, he stated plainly “it is not good for man to be alone.”  And yet when we look around what we see, almost 100% of the time is that death wins.  Hands down, no matter how hard or fast we swing, no matter how many pills we pop, how many surgeries, no matter how many lifts and tucks, death always wins.  Death wins and we find ourselves separate from those whom we love and care for.  Why?

Why have we never mastered our greatest enemy?  We look at terrorism as an evil, menacing threat that we should stop at nothing to prevent.  We wage war, we sacrifice our children, all in the name of a freedom that we seek to protect when if you think about it we are never truly free.  We’re never truly free from the one thing that truly enslaves us, the one thing that has conquered all men from as far back as we can remember…death. Why have we never been able to conquer this evil?

Again, as a Christian I believe that the God prescribed death to all of mankind as the ultimate penalty for our disobedience.  He made very clear what His will was and we willingly chose to disobey.  He gave us ample freedom, ample provision in every way in addition to perfect communion with Him and instead we chose disobedience and its penalty…death.  Death, separation.  Separation from all that is good.   Separation first from the giver of life, God, himself.  Separation from communion and fellowship with him.  Our relationship with him is no longer perfect, we no longer enjoy long peaceful walks with God, instead people try to have nothing to do with God and usually not because they truly think that all that we see in its complexities and grandeur came about by chance, but rather because they know deep inside that He is and they choose not to submit to His authority as Creator.  We are separate from one another.  Relationships are severed in death.  People are indiscriminately ripped from those whom they love.  Health doesn’t matter.  Age doesn’t matter.  Socioeconomic status doesn’t matter.  Sexual preference or religious adherence doesn’t matter.  Death comes to all.  And as they say, “misery loves company.”  Thus the effects of the fear of death, the fear of leaving this life overshadows our hearts throughout our stay on earth, we all fight and strive against one another to best one another, to take advantage of one another, to get “all that we can get out of life” while we still live.  And that is our lot.

Death will forever stand as a memorial to mankind of what happens when one chooses to shake his fist in defiance against the One who created him.  One that will forever remind us of our sin, our shortcomings, our weakness, even our inability to stand before a Holy God who beckons our submission to His will.

So what can we do?  Nothing.  We can do nothing.  We are utterly helpless against death.  We are only able to sit by idly as our loved ones, friends, co-workers and eventually ourselves are made subject to death.  Mankind will never…mark my words…never be able to overcome this most formidable enemy…on his own.

We can do nothing…but the good news is that we don’t have to, because Jesus Christ has done it all.  “According to His mercy, we have been born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”  That is God’s solution.  God’s solution is not that we would be able to conquer death, but that Jesus Christ would conquer death for us.

He has come, He has lived and He has died a death (a horrible death) that is substitutionary in that Jesus died, not as a penalty for His own sin (He didn’t have any) but as a penalty for our sins.  And because He didn’t die for His own sins, once the judgment of death was measured out upon Him for our sins, death could no longer hold Him; thus He was raised from the dead.  Jesus’ resurrection is God’s solution for our problem of death.

Separations come…this life is full of them.  Death, as it would appear, is the final separation.  Separation of the soul and body, separation of one loved one from another.  Separation from this life to the next.  And yet Jesus, the resurrected One, the One who has power over death gives eternal life to those who obey His word.  Those who trust Him as Lord are given His eternal, indestructible, Holy, resurrected life; with the hope that even the physical death that befalls all of mankind, will not hold him.  We, who believe, have hope because Jesus is alive!

Death is a painful, often devastating event.  And yet death is not the end.  And it need not be the end for anyone.  We who do believe are obligated both for the Jew and the Greek, the circumcised and uncircumcised, slave or free, to offer this free gift of God to everyone.  And that so that they may too be rescued from the fear of death, rescued from its power; and truly and finally liberated into the freedom that Christ Himself enjoys, to enjoy God and live before Him forever!

Would you have His joy today?  Would you have His peace?  Would you be set free from the bondage of the fear of death?  Would you be set free from the power that death holds over both the weakest and strongest of men?  Turn to Jesus.  No one who comes to Him will be disappointed.  All who believe in Him will have His eternal life as a free gift from Him.

As for me and my house, we will trust the Lord.  I don’t believe that I am yet done what He would have for me to do in this life.  I am not yet tired of this journey.  But whenever He should call me home, I will go bounding forth as a schoolboy who has just been released to go home.