You're A Quart Low

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ull-service gasoline stations are almost a thing of the past.  They have been replaced with more modern, upscale, and faster self-service stations where you can pump your own gas, get a drink, and wash your car without changing establishments.  Yet, all the advanced technology, all the quick service, and all the added perks have removed the personal touch from having your car serviced.

  I can remember riding in the car with my dad or one of my grandfathers.  They would stop by the service station, roll down the window, and request the car be filled with gasoline.  The attendant always greeted his customers with a smile and always asked how things were going.

In addition to filling the car with gas, the windshield and the windows were cleaned, and the oil was checked.  All this was done as part of the service, at no extra charge.  Today, it is almost impossible to find someone to check your oil, let alone do it for free.

When I began driving, I took my car to the same station my dad visited.  I received the same service.  However, one day, the attendant announced, from underneath my hood, that my car was a quart low on oil.  He immediately put a quart of oil in the motor, finished cleaning the windshield and windows, topped off the gas tank, and sent me on my way. 

As I drove away, I was thankful there was someone who knew about cars, who knew how they ran, who knew what essential things to check, and who knew how to keep an engine properly maintained.  I don’t know what would have happened if that man hadn’t checked my oil.  He knew what the level should be and he knew how to replenish the oil supply in my car.  If he hadn’t checked it regularly, I could have been in serious trouble, along the road somewhere, stranded, with no one to help me.

Unfortunately, we view life much like a self-service gas station.  Occasionally we check our gauges, notice that we need to refuel, pull into the first available station, fill up with whatever is the cheapest, grab a few other things we need, and then go about our business.  We never give any thought to maintaining the important things in life.  We just get what we think we need, when we think we need it, and go on our merry way. 

This is reflected in our spiritual lives as well.  Most of us view God as a self-service gas station, a one-stop store we visit only when we need something.  Then after a short pit stop, we go on our way, never thinking about him until we are in need again. 

Have you ever considered asking God to give you full service?  Have you ever stopped to think what he would find if he looked under your hood?  If he looked deep into your heart would he find you running low on love, low on faith, and low on spiritual fuel?

This happened to King Belshazzar.  He was throwing a party when he ran out of things to serve.  He sent for the gold and silver items from God’s temple and paid homage to the gods of gold, silver, wood, etc.  A large hand appeared and wrote on the wall.  Daniel, the prophet interpreted the writing for the king with these words from Daniel 5:27, “You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.”  He lost his kingdom that evening to the Medes and Persians.

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nd how about us today? Would we be found wanting?  We need to have his full service. Only he knows where to look in our lives for problems and difficulties.  Only he understands how we should be on the inside so that we honor and glorify him.  The next time you talk with God, have him look under the hood to make sure you are running at peak performance.  Don’t settle for anything less than full service.  Have you had your oil checked lately?