Its the direction, not the paint job...

Traveling south on Highway 37 I followed a minivan for a few miles yesterday afternoon. Before long, I could see that it was once involved in a major accident. It was not an old van, there were no dents, and the paint job still looked great. But a hard impact evidently had slammed the front driver’s side fender, throwing the entire frame out. The body was trying to pull west, but the wheels just kept traveling south. It looked almost as if it was driving sideways down the road.

Driving behind someone gives me the eye of my Dad in a hardware store checking for warped two-by-fours. Hold it up to your eye, examine it close and you can see every bend. We want the straight ones, not the warped ones.

Sideways-headed automobiles remind me of people. He’s been hit hard or she has a major impact in her history. Maybe his body doesn’t show it. Maybe she’s not really that old. Facing the right direction is important…but it’s not everything. What is ultimately important is the direction one actually travels. Some may look like they are headed west, but their feet still endure to travel north. That’s perseverance – and I commend those who press on despite the adversities of their past.

In time, that old minivan’s suffering will compound. If it goes untreated, the out-of-whack frame will wear out the tires, which will create all sorts of vibration that will damage what’s under the hood. With people, too, there is a fundamental framework on which the directions of our life depend. Even though we are pressing on in the right direction, the pull of our lives will wear out the longevity of our journey.

Discerning a need in another’s life is a challenge we should approach cautiously. Some just want the bodywork to look good. Slap some paint on or replace some chrome and hit the road. Rather, God works in our heart – inside our frame. Christ renders our heart pure as it is in alliance with God’s will.
This is the framework befitting life’s journey.
- Tob Adams