HIT THE RABBIT!
I Tim. 1:6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
As we travel down the Way Everlasting it is incumbent upon us to pay close attention and stay our course. As some are fond of saying, “keep it between the mayonnaise and the mustard”, referring to the white and yellow lines on a paved road. Yet, the sentiment can be applied to our spiritual life and journey, as well.
I am always amazed at the fullness of God’s word. Not only can the Bible be applied to our spiritual lives, but can be adapted or adopted into our daily routine. Here is an example of the consequence of a slight change in direction. To swerve is to remain in the same path, but to be pointed in the wrong direction. If there is no correction to direction, the snout will lead the body off the path. The problem is that to swerve once, requires another to compensate, and such drastic changes can result in serious injury and loss of control. Experts and professionals in driving will always stress the principle, “Do not swerve to miss the animal, plow straight through, or suffer a more serious incident.” The Bible here speaks of deviating from the course of “charity out of a pure heart, good conscience, and faith unfeigned”. Some had swerved off course and this had taken them into the more serious incident of turning aside. When we turn aside from God’s will and way in our lives, we are going in the wrong direction. Likewise going in the wrong direction will place us out of God’s will and way. Satan and the flesh will constantly throw obstacles in our path. Though it’s God’s way and well defined, it is winding, narrow, and difficult to maneuver. On each side is darkness and looming shadow. Only at the end of the road and at our final destination will the oppressive landscape of sin’s corruption be left behind. Until then, with Christ behind the wheel of our lives, we can overcome any obstacle.
My father told the story of a man who reached across the car and grabbed the steering wheel to “help” in avoiding a squirrel in the road. Though his intentions were good, the application and intervention of his will against the will of the driver came close to creating a deadly consequence.
One way to ensure the will of God is in control of your life is to give Jesus the wheel. It isn’t the easiest thing to place complete trust in another, yet isn’t that what a Christian has done already? We seem to make a distinction between having a belief and trust to save us from destruction and unto life, but fail to trust Him with our everyday existence. It’s almost like saying to Jesus, “OK, I trust you to deliver me to Heaven when I die, but right now, I’m the one in control.”
In the Air Force an F-111A fighter/bomber pilot’s most difficult aspect of training is flying with TFR (Terrain Following Radar). TFR is an innovation which allows aircraft not only to fly below radar but to maintain a very low altitude in relation to the ground terrain. When using TFR, a plane maintains a distance of less than 100 feet above the ground instead of sea level. This allows the plane to completely avoid radar. The hard part of the whole operation is that the “system” flies the aircraft rather than the pilot. So, why the difficulty for pilots? It is nearly impossible for a pilot to mimic the capability of TFR. The pilot has to place complete trust in the TFR system or suffer dire and usually fatal consequences. To interrupt the TFR on approach to a mountainside and engage manual control will inevitably cause the plane to impact the mountainside. Yet, even knowing this, pilots will disable the system at critical moments because they do not trust the TFR to do its job. This is understandable because from a human or pilot’s perspective the plane is, indeed, flying straight into a mountain, but to the TFR system, everything is well in hand.
Jesus knows how to avoid or engage every obstacle in our path. We should trust that He knows exactly what He’s doing in our lives. It may look like a mountain is looming ahead and unavoidable, but with God in control, He’ll get you through it - literally. Perhaps, Christian maturity is evidenced more by having Jesus as pilot, rather than co-pilot, as many are fond of saying. Maybe, going through the trials, tempests, and tribulations in this life rather than avoiding them is another indication of spiritual maturity. Whatever the case for maturity, the best advice for any Christian is to trust Christ in everything, not just salvation.
So, be careful not to wrench the wheel out of Jesus’ hands because you’re afraid for a little rabbit or of a huge mountain.
Go ahead, hit the rabbit!
