Sometimes you Need a Big Fix:

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my tires constantly losing air pressure.  It has only gotten worse recently as the temperatures in most places have decreased dramatically.  This day I am currently writing is right in the middle of the polar vortex which it is being called because large portions of the United States and Canada are experiencing incredibly cold weather.  

Because of the constant low tire pressure, I have had to visit the air pressure machine often, and when I say often, I mean at least a couple of times a day, during this period of below freezing temperatures.  It has been a very big inconvenience and it also in some ways dangerous because if it would have gone all the way to 0, then I could be stuck outside in weather that isn’t meant for anyone to be outside in.  

I don’t always love going to the auto shop to have my car fixed just because then I have to ask others to help pick me up from the shop to bring me to the office and then bring me back to the auto shop.  I feel bad taking time out of a person’s day and I also have a fear I will have to spend a big deal of money at the shop, so sometimes I just choose to bear with the issue for a lot longer than I need to.

However, I learned there are times a person really needs to deeply fix the problem.  They can’t just slide by forever doing something to make it through the day or through a few hours.  For another example, health is something a person really needs to get fixed when something is not quite right.  I had a lot of pain in my knee at a few different points in my life.  I was taking a lot of Advil and painkillers as well as going to the chiropractor to help align them and alleviate the pain.  However, I eventually had to go to the doctor and twice was given knee surgery to finally fix the problem. 

We as people also need a long-term fix.  We don’t need just a little fix that will fix us for the day, but rather from deep inside.  This is a type of fix that may seem a lot bigger in the moment but will completely benefit us in the end. We need to have someone come in and make everything right with us and really make us feel whole.  We can’t feel whole on our own through our own merit.  This is what the Gospel is all about.  The Gospel is about us as people who are sinners not being able to save ourselves because of our sin or because of our uncleanliness.  Then Jesus comes down to earth and dies on the cross for our sins in order that we may have the ability to live in heaven forever with Him.  

There are many verses about the Lord coming in and changing us.  One very traditional verse is 1 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation, the old is gone, the new is come.” This is a great verse many young Christians, both young as in new to the faith as well as just young in age, first learn.  This is because it is easy to understand and it is easy to memorize.  It also has a powerful message.  We as people are changed once we come into the faith, changed for the better.  We are a new person and are now made clean, made white as snow.   

 However, another verse I found that I believe really captures this message is Revelation 21:4 which says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Not only will God make us a new creation and will make us clean and white as snow, he also helps us with all of the emotions we can have or the hurt we can go through.  He will wipe away our tears and take away our pain.  Not saying sad or disappointing or even hurtful things won’t happen again in our future, but it is to say, God will be there for us and will be our life-long Savior. 

The challenge for this week is to spend time in prayer and in thankfulness over the Lord who was willing to give his all and to give his everything in order to save us.  He gave his all to the people.  It can be very easy to forget all the Lord has sacrificed and has given us.  We can even grow in our own bitterness and sadness from the bad things that come from the world.  We can sometimes even choose to walk away.  I definitely have done this.  I can get distracted by my own worries and my own anxieties.  I need to remember I don’t need to stress because the Lord is by my side.  Sometimes it is most important to just choose to sit and be grateful for the Lord’s greatness.