Car Thoughts

America has a love affair with the automobile!

And why not – they represent a person – the lines, features, power and mileage. (I see the front; the grill and the headlights, like a face – some are not very happy!)

The car gives us great freedom as evidence by suburbs and acreages.

The car sends a statement about priorities and values.

I remember a college road trip I took in 1973 to Florida and driving between Little Rock and Memphis noting the simple tar papered houses each with a big TV antenna and a large car sitting out front – the TV and the car.  The car appeared to be more important than the house – at least from the outside!

And just look at the progression of the American home as marked by the garage –

•    before 1950 a shed for a garage might be found in the backyard
•    in the 50-60’s you find a one car attached garage
•    then in the 70-90’s two car garages were attached
•    in 2000 – 2015ish – three garages became common
•    and now more and more, you find garaging for four and even more!

Grandpa on the farm in the 30’s owned one vehicle – a car!  With it they pulled a wagon to move a cow or to take a load of grain to town.  The one car transported upwards of ten people the two mile jaunt to town – the babies in the front seat with parents, the older girls in the back seat and the boys riding on the running boards or draped over the front fenders clinging to the protruding head light.  What a sight!

It was about 1960 when Dad got a second car – a 1939 gull doored Pontiac with the cool Indian head on the hood that light up.  From then on, Dad owned two cars and even with Mom gone, he still owns and drives two cars.

The car is certainly an important player in American society.

We are reminded that all vehicles come from the Dirt and all return to the Dirt

• all are born – conceived, designed, built and owned
• all die – wear out/rust out, are wrecked or become obsolete

In the vehicle we put gas and spark which causes “Go!”

In the human vehicle – God puts in the gas and spark that makes man “Go!”

All human bodies/vehicles come to an end and some will go to the crusher and some to storage – some to vehicle glory or some to the scrap yard.

When owned by “God” as bought by Jesus and managed by the Spirit; the human vehicle will in time get a complete restoration to live in a climate controlled environment (new earth) forever under the eye of a wealthy owner (God).

Without God’s “salvation”, the human vehicle will be set under the blazing sun and subjected to very dark storms to suffer ravages forever.