I have a new truck. It is a pristine 2021 Ford Ranger Lariat.
It has been my great honor to have and have had a herd of “best friends.” The longest-term best friend was and is Jack Evans. We met on the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary campus in our first semester. Ten years or so later, we pastored neighboring church congregations. We began eating breakfast together once a week. After I retired, it averaged three or four times a week. I have written about him in the past.
Jack, a man who took almost compulsive care of his vehicles, had sought for, assessed, and then bought this truck shortly before his unexpected death. His passing was the third traumatic loss in my life. This spring, his son, Josh, graciously allowed me to take over ownership of the truck. Now more than just a vehicle, the truck is a tangible connection to my dear friend.
Beginning in my parenting years, vehicles were just transportation. This truck is different. Not only is it transportation, but it is also a visceral reminder of my friend. It was in this truck that this meditation began to develop.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seatbelts save an estimated 15,000 lives yearly. I always wear my seat belt, no matter which row of seats I occupy. This habit started when, in a high school assembly, I heard an Indianapolis 500 winner tell us that race drivers who started wearing seatbelts would experience an increase in their lap times. That was reason enough for me.
I do not need to be reminded to put on my seat belt. It is “when” to buckle in that has caused me consternation. I prefer to take my seat, shut the door, start the engine, and then buckle in. But my truck has a different sequence. The truck insists that I put the seatbelt on first thing. If I neglect to do so, a warning bell begins to sound. Warning bells, by definition, are created to be annoying. The truck is indifferent to my preferences.
I am unaware of how to adjust the truck’s agenda to my preferences. If I comply with the truck, there is no annoying bell. For me, that isn’t very pleasant. Either way, I have a momentary boundary dispute. Who is this truck to tell me I must yield my preferences to the truck’s!?!
With no other recourse, I have adjusted my routine to avoid the annoying bell: shutting the door, putting on the seatbelt, and then starting the engine. The truck and I start our journeys much happier now; we have found a way to coexist in harmony!
The treasures I search for, what I think about, what I dream about, where I allow my imagination to take me, my evaluations of the people and events happening around me, and the influence of my memories on my sense of worth and potential—all these and more are what make me Fred. If I do not strap into Truth, I will not have the security to safely navigate the challenges of what it means to be created in the image of God.
Alarms go off when I have not applied, or misapplied, the Holy Spirit’s application of Scripture to my daily life. The Holy Spirit, as God’s disciplining hand, is not there to punish me for “not fastening my seatbelt” but to guide me toward where the protection of His will for my life and the advancement of His Kingdom is taking place. That is where the love, joy, and peace of life are distributed to His people for the world to see.
In my long, short life, I have learned that Truth is not what aligns with my sensibilities but what God has said and is still saying. Disabling the “bell” is a tragic mistake that leaves us vulnerable to damage and is a danger to those who love us truest. Without the secure application of the Truth, I am easily thrown about by the forces of the chaos of opposing opinions around me. The Truth, as revealed in Scripture and through the Holy Spirit, is my anchor in a world of shifting perspectives and conflicting voices.
I am also trying to habitually apply one additional lesson: I cannot be the “seatbelt enforcer” for the community around me. It is not my job to condemn the darkness. It is my joy, not my job, to be a demonstration of the security of the available Light He has given all around us.
Take heed of what “annoys” you; it might save or enhance your life and the lives closest to you.
“I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:25-26 CSB
Baldwin Heirlooms 