The longer I live in Colorado, the more I appreciate my little Toro snowblower. I’ve had it for over ten years… and it serves me well.
What I’ve learned about this machine is that it can be tricky to start. That’s why, sitting on a shelf, just above my snowblower is a can of carburetor clean-out. I often have to spray this magic mist into the carburetor to get the engine to fire off. I’m not sure what’s in this mix, but it seems to instantly create ignition.
There is, however, a problem with this method. Often, the engine starts, but it only stays running for a few seconds. This forces me to go back through the ritual again to get the engine to fire over.
As much as I love my snowblower, it won’t run on my Gumout, carburetor clean-out spray. Start, yes. Stay running, no.
Perhaps you’ve noticed, like me, that it seems as though a lot of carburetor clean-out spray is being used to ignite issues in our country, and around the world. A global pandemic fueled elevated urgency on the value of human life. The video record of the unthinkable killing of George Floyd turbo-charged discussions on race, and justice, and equality. Political platforms ignited heated debate on the questions of human sexuality, the dignity and value of human life, and the care for those on the margins. Our first female Vice President stoked the celebration of gender equity.
But, as history demonstrates… the red hot immediacy of these issues is not a sustaining force for change. Real transformation and change requires an anchored view of life. A centralized perspective on human value. It requires an understanding and a respect for the Creator God who formed humans in His likeness. A God who poured His image into human beings.
The headlines don’t fuel our passion for justice or equality or freedom or life or the protection of the most vulnerable or care for the sick, or liberty for the oppressed… God does. And anything short of His sustaining view of mankind will be extinguished as quickly as it was ignited.
Justice is God’s standard.
Righteousness is God’s rule.
Mercy is God’s heart.
Self-sacrifice is God’s posture.
Diversity is God’s design.
Marriage is God’s plan.
Care for the poor is God’s priority.
Proclaiming Good News is God’s calling.
Pursuit of the lost is God’s mission.
The Church is God’s architecture.
Community is God’s blueprint.
Compassion is God’s answer to human distress.
Generosity is God’s response to abundance.
And love is the inexhaustible fuel that makes all of this possible and sustainable.
God supreme. Christ preeminent. The Spirit empowering.
His Kingdom.
Everything else is carburetor clean-out. Start, yes. Stay running, no.
Fuel for a lifetime.
Image bearers. On His mission. Sustainable change. Cosmic transformation.
{ 0 comments }
