Stay On Course

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ne of the joys and privileges of owning a car is maintenance!  Every time I turn around it seems something needs to be done to my car.  I have the oil changed regularly, I have the engine tuned, I have all the belts and hoses checked, and I make sure the tires get rotated every 5,000 miles.  With all these things to maintain, it’s no wonder the thrill of driving sometimes loses its appeal.

One Saturday morning, I took my car in for a regular oil change.  While I was there, I also decided to purchase a new set of tires since the ones on my car were beginning to show the wear and tear of the road.  The salesman was very knowledgeable and extremely polite and helped me pick out the best tire for the car within my budget.  We went to the counter to complete the order and he suggested I have my car aligned.  This made perfect sense!  The new tires would soon wear out completely if the car’s wheels were not aligned to drive in a straight line.

They took my car, put it up on the rack, installed the new tires, changed the oil, and finally aligned the wheels.  I watched this entire process through a large window and drank some coffee while I waited for my car.  They put a set of instruments on the wheels of my car that were designed to demonstrate the degree to which the car was pulling and veering away from a straight line.  According to what those instruments showed, the mechanic knew in which direction to adjust my tires so they would all work in perfect unity.  This ensured that no one tire would carry more weight than any other and that all of the treads would wear evenly as I drove.

Throughout this entire process, I was most impressed with the instruments used to test the alignment of my car.  They were designed to show the variance between my car’s idea of a straight line and one that was truly straight.  The instruments are always right and serve as the standard against which my car is measured.  Any variance from that standard spells difficulty for my car and added cost for me somewhere down the road.

The Apostle Paul also understood the necessity for alignment.  Paul, however, wasn’t thinking about aligning the wheels of a chariot, a cart, and certainly not a car.  What he had in mind was the alignment of the heart and soul.  He knew that unless we get properly aligned in our relationship with God, we will have great difficulty down the road and it will be impossible for us to stay on course.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul pens a very familiar passage, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).  Although short, this verse carries a heavy punch!  Let’s look at what it tells us today.  First, all of us have sinned.  No one can claim that he or she is living a perfect life.  There was only one person who lived perfectly and that was Jesus.  He was and is the glory of God revealed in the flesh.  Jesus is, therefore, the standard against which our lives are measured to see just how far from the “straight and narrow” we are.  Guess what?  All of us fall woefully short of that standard.

If we ended here, we could well become dejected, depressed, and downcast.  But Jesus came in order to offer us the opportunity to realign our lives.  Without him, we drive down the broad road of life, headed for a breakdown, a blowout, or worse, a fatal accident.  If our hearts and souls are not aligned with his, we are driving with defective equipment that will surely lead to our ruin.  But when we accept him as our savior, when we let him put us up on the rack and examine our hearts, when we allow him to push and pull them into proper alignment, our lives get on the right track and we stay on course, following him in a straight path.

When was the last time you had you spiritual alignment checked?  Isn’t if funny how we will make sure that our cars are running properly, following a straight line but neglect to check in with our chief mechanic to maintain proper alignment?  Are you traveling in a straight line today?  Are you staying on course?