THE PRICE OF JOY
Made New
After forty years of marriage, I didn’t think my hubby Bert could do anything to surprise me. Well, I was wrong! One morning, as we drank our coffee, he told me he’d decided to sell his 1985 CJ7 Jeep. My mouth went dry.
He’d bought a used Jeep in 2010, polished the sun-damaged red paint until the entire vehicle gleamed, and worked on the engine till it purred. Aside from the occasional carburetor troubles, he loved this SUV.
He’d talked about unloading it for a year or so, but I knew he wouldn’t do it. That Jeep continued to be his pride and joy. Neighbors would stop by to chat with him about it, and Bert would come in the house holding his cheeks, aching from the grin he wore.
What price do you put on that kind of joy?
So, when he announced he was putting an ad in the neighborhood news, I gave him my usual “I’ll-believe-it-when-I-see-it” reply and went back to work. But then the calls came in and the Jeep drove out, and tears filled Bert’s eyes. Mine too.
A few days ago, our neighbor stopped by with the Jeep. He explained that a mechanic friend searched until he located the precise carburetor for this Jeep. Then he took Bert for a ride. Though filled with nostalgia at its parting, Bert loved that the Jeep ran better than ever before. “Like new” were his words.
And isn’t that exactly what Jesus does for us?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)
When we turn our lives over to Jesus, give Him ownership and allow Him to work in us, He makes us new. He washes us clean in His life-giving blood, searches for and heals the sin-damaged areas, and sets us free to live for Him.
As we place Him in the driver’s seat, yielding the wheel and the road to Him, He takes us on an unforgettable ride. All the way home.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal.2:20, NKJV)
So beautiful and great analogy!