Parking Problems
My driving experience started at home on the farm at the age of nine in Dad’s baby blue quarter ton Mazda. He patiently endured many stalls and jack rabbit starts, while I mastered the stick shift. I remember long before that, I’d sit on his knees to steer if we were going a short distance across the yard; and of course, this led to driving the Johnny Deere (tractor) to help with chores around home from time to time. When it came to driver training experience, our Grade Ten class had an amazing teacher. I often wish I had remembered his name in case I could “run into” him at some point. He had an incredible way of making a person feel relaxed and actually enjoy the daily trips in his car. One lesson that stands out to me was his way of doing a parallel park; it never failed. I can’t say I’m a pro and I wish I had written his method down word for word so I could do it complete one without fail however, I remember the gist of it and feel fairly confident in this feat.
A couple years ago, I hopped in with my parents to go to a convention in Calgary. It was a stretch for us rednecks to drive there, not having been there for almost ten years. One day, we were cautiously manipulating the downtown when we got into a long line up of cars waiting at a light. We sat there for what seemed like forever... until we realized we’d been following a parked car! (insert howling laughter!!) Oh my goodness... you know what it feels like if you fall down and get up quickly, hoping no one saw? Well, the feeling was mutual. We all pulled the paper bags over our heads as we howled with laughter once we figured out what we were doing. I’m guessing we weren’t the only ones that have ever done that... I hope.
That experience leads me to thinking of a life lesson Reinhard Bonnke taught at a large youth gathering a few years back: “Don’t follow behind a parked car. You’ll never arrive.” It has a funny connotation associated to it... especially in light of the experience we had in Calgary, however; there is a lot of truth to it. We must choose wisely those we are following. The Word of God warns us to not be “unequally yoked” which not only applies to marriages, business partners and so on, it also applies to who we are yoked with in ministry. Charles Green, a veteran in the faith and leader in ministry for over seventy years (he’s 91 years old) recently said: “You have no business being somewhere that God hasn’t called you to.” Folks, we MUST hear the voice of Holy Spirit of where we need to be and who we need to be partnered with in these last days. Remember the story about the cowboy who rode with horse thieves? “Who you ride with, you die with...” Dear ones, who we follow is a serious matter. THIS is the day... this is the TIME... this is the SEASON we MUST say what our Father God says and do what our Father God does. “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” We will never get to where God wants us to be if we are following a parked car.
“...having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
Scripture reference: 2 Timothy 3:4-6