You would probably never know just by looking at my car that there were any mechanical issues. Though there are some minor paint blemishes here and there, it looks good from the outside. Someone obviously put time into restoring it before I bought it. It even looks good under the hood... but there were some things that needed to be addressed right from day one.
I was fully aware that when I bought a 58 year old car, there would be some tweaking that would need to be done. However, I honestly didn’t realize it would be a forever project. I recognize now that I was a bit naïve. There is always something I can do to get it running better.
Doesn’t that sound like our lives? We do our best to put on a good face for the world on the outside, but on the inside, there are some things that need to be addressed. From minor tune-ups to complete overhauls, there is no end to the fixes we need in our lives.
If I leave my car to just get better on its own, it will fall completely apart. It’s a good thing it has someone like me to take care of it. But it isn’t just our cars that need attention. Our homes and gardens and our bodies. Everything in this world needs tending to on some level, or it will fall into decay.
The evolutionary view for our universe has become prolific in our culture, and even for some Christians. But a core tenet of evolution is that things continually get better. As you look around our world today, do you believe things are better now than they were twenty years ago? Perhaps in some respects, but if we think things will get better on their own, we are simply being naïve.
Evolution suggests all things came into existence in an imperfect state and move toward perfection. Our faith tells us all things were created in perfection, and sin corrupted it. If God were to leave us to “evolve” and get better on our own, like my Mustang, we would be lost forever. Our world needs help. We need help. It’s a good thing we have God to take care of us. He is the help we need and the help our world needs.
I wasn’t there when my car rolled off the assembly line, but I am confident it wasn’t perfect even then. And it never will be. It is a work in progress. We are a work in progress from the perspective of our lives here on earth, but we are a work of perfection from God’s perspective. He has made us good and right and perfect and holy because of his work for us. It is because of Christ’s work on the cross and not because of anything we have done.
I will continue to work on my Mustang because I care that it runs well. And I will continue to work on my life because God cares for me. As we move toward that day when we will understand absolute perfection in heaven, I pray we can take care of the things around us, including the people around us, because we are God’s forever project.
Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart gladly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."
God loves you and so do I! Pastor Paul
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