Meet Me At The Pump!

 

M

y car’s gas tank is on the wrong side!  By this I mean that the tank is never on the side of the gas pump I need to use.  This point was driven painfully home to me yesterday as I stopped to fill my car with gas.  I visited my regular filling station and headed toward the pump I usually use.  It is facing the right way and my gas tank cover lines up very nicely, so it is no fight with the hose in an attempt to place it into the tank. 

 

One weekend, I was faced with a dilemma.  As I pulled up to the pump, I noticed a red cover had been placed over the pump’s nozzle stating that it was out of order.  “Great, “ I thought, “just what I didn’t need today!”  Have you ever been there?  Anyway, the only other pumps open to me were facing in the opposite direction.  I knew I could get gas but it would require some pretty keen acrobatics on my part to line my car up properly so I could fill up my tank.

   

So, I started turning the wheel, moving forward, backing up, turning left, then right until my car was close enough to the pump.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough for the hose to reach.  I parked the car, turned off the engine, got out, followed the “helpful” instructions on the pump and filled my car with gas.  While I was standing there, I noticed the other cars and people at the station.  Right in front of me, a rather wealthy couple pulled up to buy gas for their car.  As I finished buying my gas this man was just beginning the process.  I got back in the car and watched for a few minutes as I considered a great truth from the pages of Scripture. 

 

No matter our financial situation, no matter our social status, and no matter our family history or pedigree, everyone at that station needed one thing, gasoline.  We all drove our cars to the pump, we all got out, we all followed the “helpful” instructions on the pumps, and we all purchased our fuel.  Our cars, regardless of horsepower, make, and model, all required gasoline to operate correctly, and we had all come to the only type of establishment that could meet our need, a filling station. 

 

During Jesus’ ministry, people came to him from all over the area.  They also came to him from different backgrounds, histories, pedigrees, and experiences.  They all came to him because he offered the one thing all of them needed, the truth about God and His grace.  Jesus serviced them all and did not turn one person away.  However, there were people who came to Jesus, who heard his message, and then decided not to fill their tanks with the fuel they so desperately needed.   

 

One such person was the Rich Young Ruler whose story is recorded in both Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels.  Mark 10:20-22 says, “Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”  

 

We enter this conversation in mid-stream.  The young man has asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus quotes the law to him, telling him not to steal, kill, or commit adultery.  They young man claims to have kept the law since his youth, yet his tank is still empty, his life is incomplete, and he is not operating at full capacity.  This is when Jesus steps in and tells him to sell all he has, give it to the poor, and to come follow him.  Unfortunately, the price is too high for this young man and he goes away sad because he was unwilling to obey Jesus’ command. 

 

Jesus told this young man to sell all he had for a very good reason.  Jesus wanted him to empty his tank of everything.  Only when we are empty, only when we have removed everything, only when we have confessed all our sin, only when we have died to ourselves can we ever hope to be filled with God!  We cannot mix the things of the world with the things of God.  We must jettison our fuel, empty our tanks, in order for God to place the right fuel into our hearts.  That fuel is the saving blood of Jesus Christ who came to die on a Roman cross that we, all of us, might have life eternal and to the full.  Only through Jesus can we be saved, only through him can we have a right relationship with God.   

 

Have you filled your tank today with this fuel?  If not, I invite you to do so today.  If you are already a Christian, how long has it been since you opened God’s word and filled your tank with all He has for you?  What does the gage of your spiritual tank tell you about your relationship with God today?