When I bought my ’64 ½ Mustang last year, it didn’t run all that well. It’s a manual three-speed and getting it started and going down the road was a bit of a trick. And for the record, it’s not because I don’t know how to drive a stick. I figured the engine just needed some new parts and a good tune-up. But as my friend and I were working on it, we just couldn’t get it to run right.
After a while of messing around, we did a little research on my engine and found out that it wasn’t the original engine. In fact, we had been putting 1964 ½ parts for a 170 straight six on a 1967 straight six 200. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, don’t worry about it. The short story is that sometime in the last 58 years, the engine had been replaced. We were using parts, a manual, and specs for the wrong engine. No wonder we were having issues.
I don’t think the guy who owned it before me knew about this. I believe he took it to his mechanic, who also may not have realized it was a different engine, and they did the best they could. You don’t have to be a motorhead to know that looking at the correct manual and using the correct parts makes a big difference.
There are a lot of people in our world who don’t realize they are using the wrong manual and the wrong strategies in their lives. Perhaps they figure their lives simply aren’t running quite right and they don’t know how to fix it. They may not even know that the spirit inside of them is different than how it was designed to be. They are just doing the best they can.
Our spirits were designed to be in tune with God who created us, but sin messes up all the original specs. We can try to fix the problem with the world’s perception of the answer, but it will never resolve the issue. Or we may believe we were a mistake and give up because nothing can fix us.
We see plenty of examples of these situations in our broken and sinful world, but they are only symptoms of a much larger problem. We have a sin-filled spirit running our lives, rather than the perfect spirit God intended for humanity. He gave us a spirit designed for an intimate relationship with him, but we have corrupted that relationship.
As Christians, we have the manual that will make a difference. We have a God who promises to restore us to his original intent. He will give us a new heart, one made of flesh, not of stone. He will give us perfect bodies and right spirits in his new creation. Bodies that will no longer need repair and spirits that will no longer need tune-ups. These fixes are supernatural, permanent, and eternal. Neither we nor the world can implement them without God working in us and for us. It took Christ’s work on the cross to put the right running engine in us.
I know you have issues in your life that may make it seem like life will never run as it should. That may be an accurate perception for our time here on earth, but God has a plan for you now and for eternity. He is using you today to make a positive impact on the lives of others and he is getting you ready for eternity with him.
I won’t be taking my Mustang to heaven with me, but I won’t be taking my sin with me either. You and I have perfection awaiting us because of Christ’s work. Whatever challenges you may be facing in this moment, know that in eternity, life will be running smoothly.
God loves you and so do I! Pastor Paul