Pulling Up to the Line

19For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. 20If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. 22 ‘He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ 23When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.24He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,* so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds* you have been healed. 25For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. ~ 1 Peter 2:19-25

This morning, as I pulled up to the red light on my way to work, I noticed that the car beside me stayed over a half car length back from the stop line instead of pulling all of the way up. I have noticed this other times recently as well. I am always puzzled by this, as to why they stay so far back – sometimes so far back that they do not trigger the light for their lane (if it is a turn lane). It caused me to ponder how this relates to our faith life in today’s society.

So many people believe in God, yet they don’t fully commit themselves to Him (much like stopping for the red light, but not pulling up to the stop line in traffic). God has that “line” where, when we truly believe in Him and give ourselves over to Him and His will, we are showing our faith that He will use us for what He created us to be and to complete while here on earth instead of stubbornly holding back to “do our own thing” while claiming that we have faith in Him.

How are you “holding back” in your faith in God? What can you do to “pull up” to His “stop line” and allow God to “take the wheel of your life” to use you for His will in this world? Take your “foot off of the brake” and roll on up to God’s “stop line”, stopping your willfulness and allowing your faith in Him to take you farther than you ever imagined in this life so as to claim your eternal reward when the “light turns green” and you travel on past this life to your eternal reward.

Prayer

Lord,

I know I am stubborn and hold back to do my own selfish things in this world. Help me to “pull up” to your “stop line” and allow You to take over the wheel of my life to accomplish all you have put me in this world to do in Your name instead of wasting my time doing what “I” want to do. Amen.

~ Wendy Miller