Think of it Like Car Trouble

It drives me crazy.

I think I know why people do it, say it, think it, but it is just wrong.

You’ve heard the phrase, or at least the thought. "I will get my life together, and then I will go to church."

Huh?

That is not the way it is supposed to work.

This is similar to the last Chasing Squirrel, but a little different. This isn’t how Christians portray themselves as having it all together, it is about how people who don’t go to church are trying to get it all together.

Before they go to church.

Same issues apply, I think.

We don’t want to appear to have issues. We are not the people that we wish we were. We just want to be better.

Got it.

But it is still wrong.

Think of it like this.

Don’t you just love the check engine light?

That little light that tells you nothing, but also tells you more than you wish it did.

So, what do you do when the light comes one?

Do you change the oil?

Well, that could be the problem.

But there is usually another light for that.

Do you put air in the tires?

Now we are completely off track.

Maybe you open the hood and stare at the engine for a while.

I’ve tried that, but it never seems to work.

Or do you take it to the mechanic? (You know, unless you are a mechanic and then you would just have to imagine what it would be like.)

You go and admit that there is a problem that you cannot fix.

So you take your car to the one who can make it run.

That is how we should look at going to church.

Should you try to fix your life?

Well, there are some things that you could probably do to feel better and function better.

And you should do them.

But to really get it fixed, really get your life running well, go to church.

Go to God.

Go to the one who designed you in the first place.

Go to the one who wrote the owner’s manual.

Go to the one who longs to give you a life full of joy and purpose.

Don’t see your issues as a reason to stay away from church.

See them as the reason to go to church.

They are the check engine light.

You don’t try to fix the engine before taking it to the mechanic.

You show up, humbly, and ask them to fix it because you can’t.

That is how we go to church.

That is how we go to God.

We ask Him to fix us, because we can’t.

So, when the Check Person light comes on, take it to the mechanic.

He knows just what to do.