A wealthy car maker manufactured a special vehicle for each of his two sons. He did so when they were still babies. The father tragically disappeared while the boys were still young. When they came of age, they learned to drive their cars, and they took off driving without ever looking back.
Years later, the first son found a message in the glove box of his car. The message was from Dad explaining how he had produced for each of his sons a car, and it was out of his great love for them that he built the vehicles as he did. In the letter, Dad urged his first son to use the vehicle for good, to bless people with it. He implored him to obey speed limits, to follow the rules of the road, and to take good care of the car so that it lasts. Above all, he said, drive the car remembering that it is “my gift of love especially for you.”
The first son embraced the precious words of his father. With a tear in his eye, he finished reading the letter and appreciated the vehicle more than he ever had before. He drove to meet his brother.
The second son sat and listened to his older brother who was urging him to look in the glove box of his own car, but he was not at all interested. He even refused to open the glove box. He had been filling the tank of his car on his own for years now. He had always changed the oil by himself. He had paid for all of the necessary repairs, and he had washed the car so faithfully. It was HIS car, and he had no interest in learning some story about how it came to be his car…not after all of these years of ownership and investment. No one could tell him how to use his car, not now. None of that mattered to him, because he was the proud owner of his car.
If we are honest, the “car” we are all driving every day is a gift we received. We can’t even begin to explain the details of how we came to have our bodies. We didn’t participate in the construction. We just have it. Who manufactured it, and why it was made are critical questions that call for a reasonable answer.
Why not read the letter from the One who blessed us with such amazing “cars” ? Why live like we are the manufacturer and owner, when we are really just the driver ?
Warning Light : Your “car” is going to break down. Don’t wait until that happens to read the letter in your “glove box”.
Years later, the first son found a message in the glove box of his car. The message was from Dad explaining how he had produced for each of his sons a car, and it was out of his great love for them that he built the vehicles as he did. In the letter, Dad urged his first son to use the vehicle for good, to bless people with it. He implored him to obey speed limits, to follow the rules of the road, and to take good care of the car so that it lasts. Above all, he said, drive the car remembering that it is “my gift of love especially for you.”
The first son embraced the precious words of his father. With a tear in his eye, he finished reading the letter and appreciated the vehicle more than he ever had before. He drove to meet his brother.
The second son sat and listened to his older brother who was urging him to look in the glove box of his own car, but he was not at all interested. He even refused to open the glove box. He had been filling the tank of his car on his own for years now. He had always changed the oil by himself. He had paid for all of the necessary repairs, and he had washed the car so faithfully. It was HIS car, and he had no interest in learning some story about how it came to be his car…not after all of these years of ownership and investment. No one could tell him how to use his car, not now. None of that mattered to him, because he was the proud owner of his car.
If we are honest, the “car” we are all driving every day is a gift we received. We can’t even begin to explain the details of how we came to have our bodies. We didn’t participate in the construction. We just have it. Who manufactured it, and why it was made are critical questions that call for a reasonable answer.
Why not read the letter from the One who blessed us with such amazing “cars” ? Why live like we are the manufacturer and owner, when we are really just the driver ?
Warning Light : Your “car” is going to break down. Don’t wait until that happens to read the letter in your “glove box”.