Coming into the office on early Sunday mornings, I usually find my thoughts beginning to coagulate around the morning message. I prefer to operate like a laser on Sundays, avoiding unnecessary distractions and denying the tyranny of the urgent its desire to own me. I’m here primarily to preach on the Lord’s Day and I’ve learned to protect that purpose with great vigor each week. That’s why I felt irritated when I saw my car’s “check engine” light flash on and remain illuminated as I made my way down I-985 today.
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” – 1 Timothy 4:16 {KJV}
The check engine light is the car designer’s method of telling you that something under the hood is not as it should be. It’s not to be ignored with the hope of self-correction, for the automobile is not able to fix itself once this light engages. If you are as non-mechanical as I am, this little light makes you uneasy and you conclude quickly enough that some outside intervention will be necessary to get things running properly again. You can roll the dice and hope it’s nothing major or you can do the intelligent thing and let someone with better insight and skills take a peek at it. A parallel occurred to me today as I was getting dressed for the morning meetings. We will gather today together in the presence of the Lord and our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will pray and sing and serve and teach and learn and grow and change. During what is a fairly familiar process, God’s Spirit through God’s truth will begin to signal some of us that all is not as it should be. Our inner “check engine” light will begin to flash as we become aware that there are some things not functioning properly in the intricacies of our soul. Maybe God will choose to deal with an unforgiving heart. Maybe someone’s negligence of their own spiritual health is threatening a roadside breakdown. It could be that your oil is old and dirty and a complete lockup of all working parts is coming soon. Maybe you are very close to running dry of fuel and that chugging you sense is God’s way of saying that your journey is soon to be interrupted. Lots of things will be spoken today by God through His word. My prayer is that we won’t ignore the indicators and that we will pull over and let Him under our hood. By the way, I would quickly mention that you don’t need to spend all of your time under the hood of your heart, staring constantly as you scan for something amiss. That’s an unhealthy extreme. That’s paranoia and I am not suggesting that you live your life that way, always afraid of some impending breakdown, always assuming that something is afoul. No, ultimately our vehicles are meant to be driven and enjoyed as they take us where we need to go. Your life is similar in that it is meant to be lived out to God’s fullest. He can (and will and does!) let you know if something is not working properly. He’s never been conflicted as to how He might get His message through. Eventually you need to close the hood, get behind the wheel, turn the key and hit the road. That’s what a car was designed for. That’s what you were made for too.
Listen today to the message you hear. Whether it occurs in a sanctuary, on television, over the internet or by CD, please take heed to yourself. Pay close attention to what God is saying because He never speaks without clear purpose. It’s not always comfortable and sometimes what He is saying may cause you to interrupt your own plans and pull over. There may be some simple tweaks that need to occur before He sets you back on your journey. For some, the changes may not be minor at all. You may need to consider that He intends for you to park it for a bit while He does some overhauling. I’m not a person who has the right nor ability to tell you what all needs to take place with your spiritual engines, but I am one who has seen a “check engine” light a few times during my faith journey. In the end, I’m just one voice telling you not to ignore the light if it’s flashing. Check your heart. You won’t regret it down the road a bit.