A Pickup Truck and the Gospel

What does a pickup truck have to do with the Gospel?  Perhaps not much in and of itself.  But when I think of how I regard my pickup truck and the Spirit brings to mind how I think of the Gospel I experience an “ouch” moment. Allow me to explain...

One area that God has been gracious to me in life has been in the area of having safe, reliable transportation. For the last couple years this has been found in having a pickup truck. I’ll admit, I like having a truck. It’s fun to drive. I can haul some stuff in it. I am able to help others haul stuff in it. I can comfortably have four others (and once even more!) ride in it with me. I get to sit up higher when I drive. It is spacious and roomy and has been reliable the entire time I have had it.

In short, I really appreciate my truck. I am grateful that I have it. So much so that there have been times when I have walked out to it or gotten in it to drive somewhere and that appreciation comes to mind and I can’t help but thank God for the blessing that is the vehicle I get to drive. Doesn’t happen all the time, but enough that I’d like to think that I don’t really take my truck for granted too much.

Why do I appreciate my truck? I derive value from it – it gets me safely to where I want to go, with whatever/whoever I want to have come with me. I derive joy from it – it is fun to drive.  I have a confidence in it – it has not failed me yet and I have no reason to expect, as I take care of it, that it will fail me any time in the near future.

Now let’s take “truck” out of the equation and put in “gospel,” the fact that God has graciously sent His Son to die for my sins and thus saved me and given me His righteousness credited to my account now and will one day restore me to be with Him forever, instead.  How often do I think about what the Gospel has done for me, what Jesus has accomplished for me? How often do I thank God for His grace shown to me? Do I often find joy in the salvation that has been granted to me? Where is my hope and confidence in light of the prospect of life with Jesus now and in eternity to come?

Ouch indeed.

So the problem may be identified, but what is the solution? What then do I do in response to this realization that I don’t appreciate the Gospel and all that has been done for me through Christ the way that I should? Consideration of the Gospel and the matter at hand would perhaps suggest the following:

-What is my awareness of my sin and my readiness to confess and repent?  A person lounging in the kid pool has no appreciation for a life ring thrown to them. The person who realizes they are floating in a raging ocean is extremely grateful for any means of assistance or rescue offered to them. Not appreciating the saving work of Christ is indicative that I don’t have an appreciation of my great need, day in and day out, for it, and thus an appreciation for just how great my sin is.

-What do I delight in day by day? There are many good things in my life, many things that I can delight and find joy in – do I find delight in stuff or do I delight in the One who graciously gives every good and perfect gift? Do I find contentment in all things, great and poor, because that which I truly treasure is in heaven? “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20b).

-Where is my confidence as I walk through each day? Am I ship adrift in life, rocked by the winds and waves of circumstance? Or am I a ship confidently anchored to the hope that regardless of what today brings, God is abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, both for my present circumstances and my eternal hope? If I am grounded in the Gospel then the circumstances of life become opportunities for reminder that though my heart and flesh may fail, God’s faithfulness is solid in all things.

Dearest believer, my hope is that, unlike it has been for me, your daily life is punctuated with praise and thanksgiving for God’s grace made manifest to us in the person and work of Jesus, that you dwell in and rejoice in the beauty of the Gospel and saving work done for sinful people. If not, I hope that you would join me in calling out to God, that He might “restore to me the joy of my salvation.”