Dancing in the Light

I John 1:7 "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Name:
Location: North Platte, Nebraska, United States

I am a christian wife, mother and grandmother. I am a licensed Social worker and a licensed Christian counselor. I am most proud of the relationships I have with God, my family and friends all over the world. I have been blessed beyond my dreams.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Wrecked

I have a wrecked Jeep Liberty in my garage. It had an encounter with a concrete barrier and now it no longer runs. In fact, it could not make it to my house except on a trailer. It does not run! Everytime I open my garage door, I see this mangled clump of metal and steel, with plastic and engine parts hanging off. It makes me sad. I wanted to total the car, write it off but my husband is a man of optimism --it excites him that the radio still works and the upholstery is still in good condition and a couple of the windows are not broken. He believes he can fix this car, he believes he can replace the broken parts, hammer out some dents, repaint and make this car function again. He knows it will be costly and time consuming, and that it will take much effort and patience, but he has hope.
I have been thinking about how many of us have been spiritually wrecked? How many of us have just been going on about our daily lives, living carefree and a bit careless, only to come to an abrupt stop, up against a concrete barrier? I know I have been there and I know others who have also shared this experience. When we hit that wall, the damage caused by our haphazard living is often extensive and for some time we find ourselves unable to function. We are no longer pretty and shiny, but rather spiritually and emotionally mangled and dented, torn apart and wrecked! We feel sad, ashamed and hopeless. There are some who look at the "wrecked" christian and although saddened, are ready to total them out---write the brother or sister off as unsalvageable. There are some who shake their heads and walk away, uncomfortable around the wreckage of a soul. But praise God there are others, hope-filled people of faith, christians who look at the soul, all battered and scarred, and begin praying. They look for the positives, the good things in these wrecked souls because these christians know that our Father can fix anything. He can cast out demons, He can restore sight, He can bring forth a child from the aged, He can save a nation and He can give life! He can redeem this soul, salvage the good, remove the nonworking parts, hammer out the dents and make a new creation. These christians know it will be costly---in fact the already paid lifeblood of the Savior. And they know it will take much time and much effort, much patience and TLC. But, they look at the sad, tattered soul and they have hope. The christian of faith is willing to fight and work to salvage the soul no matter how "totaled" he or she appears.
As Ned begins working on the Jeep, he will call on his friends to help him. The Jeep will be the focus of his attention for some time to come. He will get dirty and he will become tired. He will most likely be frustrated at times, but he will not give up! He needs this Jeep to function. He needs this vehicle to run, to do what it was created to do. It is important to Ned and he will not consider other options. There are some who will tell him to give up, who will tell him that the car is not worth all the time and work he will put into it. There will be times when he will feel discouraged that repairs are not progressing as quickly as he'd like. And there will be times when he is tired and feels like calling the junkyard. But, he will not do that, he will continue to work, continue to hope. And with every little piece that is fixed, every little dent that is smoothed out and every little gadget or big part that begins to work again, he will rejoice.
Likewise when we are working with wrecked souls, there will be times when we are discouraged, tired, frustrated and almost ready to give up. During those times, we will need to remember that God did not and does not give up on us and that He can and does accomplish amazing things in our lives. He can repair a soul, He can restore functioning, He can recreate. After all, He did it for us, didn't He?


Peace
Neva

24 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

We are too often too willing to give up on souls. You are right!
We need to remember that God did not give up on us!
Great post.

Corinne

7:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes! Praise God!

Dean

9:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awesome post, Neva. Thanks for the reminder to keep working on the spiritually wrecked -- and to keep working on myself when I find myself headed toward that concrete barrier!!

9:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I totally get this analogy having grown up around the car business. It takes a special person to see the good in something and/or someone when all looks lost. Ned is that type of person. Oh, he'll get frustrated but he won't give up. I'm so glad that he, and you, don't give up on brothers and sisters when all looked as if it were lost.

We all can learn from your example. Thanks!

Love,
Tammy

PS Joe turned 50 today! Call his cell phone if you get the chance. 307-431-2797.

9:35 AM  
Blogger preacherman said...

Neva,
What a great post. The point that you make between the two is wonderful. Can I use it in a sermon illustration sometime? :-) Great post. God bless you sister.

9:37 AM  
Blogger Larissa said...

It's not funny at all...but it makes me kind of laugh that Ned is excited about the "working" radio. We need more people like him!

9:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Confession time

I'm not sure the radio works but I needed to give Neva a little hope.

Mr Neva

Pass the bondo please!

9:59 AM  
Blogger Mommysmart said...

Neva,

Beautiful post and what a great analogy.

Monica

11:04 AM  
Blogger jel said...

what a post ! :)

thanks!

1:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good post. Sometimes I feel like that jeep of yours, but I know that He can take care of my needs.
Thanks for praying foor me, as I had been fairly sick with my yearly bout with sinuses, which makes it hard to think for long periods of time.

2:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great post! We need to always be willing to put forth the effort to salvage a soul.

Great post.
Rachel

2:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! I would liek to use this sometime too. All my youth group understand wrecked cars, they could relate to this analogy, I am sure.

Blessings,
Dan

2:48 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Great post!!! Thanks, I needed that :)

3:56 PM  
Blogger Bob Bliss said...

Great idea for high school chapel at the Bible School here in Mt. Dora. I certainly can find pictures of wrecked cars and make the same analogies. Thanks for post and the idea. Of course I have seen this played out in the lives of a couple of friends lately. I am praying that I keep on the straight path.

4:18 PM  
Blogger Paula Harrington said...

Love it! Great illustration and Ned reminds me of John :)

4:56 PM  
Blogger Liz Moore said...

Great analogy! Thanks for the reminder that God is never finished with us. Blessings!

5:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

we have a new man in church and this has touched my heart so much ty i really needed this as i need to give this man a chance as God would hugs aunt wilma

6:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Neva
I love this post! We cannot see souls as unsalvageable. Jesus never saw them that way.

Jeneane

6:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rejoicing at the good, at the things that work as we work with the wrecked soul to bring them back to God, exactly waht God wants.

Good job, Neva
Pat

6:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post, Neva.
My own daughter is struggling lately and has made some less than fantastic choices and she told me that coming to church is hard because of the comments she gets from one man in particular. Thank our Lord that there are so many who welcome her with smiles and hugs. I firmly believe that our prayers and those welcomes will be a big help when she chooses to return to the Lord in faithfulness.
Also, this topic causes me to think of Jesus' command to Peter. Knowing that Peter would deny Him 3 times, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;
but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31 & 31) When we have been salvaged after a wreck - we are to use that experience to strengthen others. What an incredible God we have that not only salvages us from the wreckage and remembers it no more (Heb. 10:18), but He empowers us to use those bad choices and experiences to help others!

9:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

neva-
Just a Howdy.
Ned is one of the rare ones.
He sees the possibilities.
You have to see the possibilities in life to do what's needed in order to show others the impossible so that what's most needed can be done.

9:53 AM  
Blogger Lori said...

You are just amazing! When I start out reading, my mind wonders how you are going to use this to disciple us. You always blow me away with your posts.

5:35 AM  
Blogger Matt said...

Thank you for this post and how you continue to bless my life. You are so right and I can't stop thinking that Jesus never total's out a soul. That is what his life was all about...repair work.

I pray that God would bless you immensely today.
Matt

8:00 AM  
Blogger Kathy said...

"He can repair a soul, He can restore functioning, He can recreate. After all, He did it for us, didn't He?"

You bet He can!! Look what He did with the mess I called 'my life'! Praise His Holy Name and great mercy!!!

That Ned gets excited about the working radio would be a fine example for all of us to follow when we think about shrugging shoulders and walking away from a recalcitrant non-believer or one that's wandered away from God. IOW-Look for the working parts and start from there. Great analogy Neva. You put it so perfectly!!

Another great post from you, Neva. What a blessing you are!!!!!

10:04 AM  

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