Roadster

Indulge me as I tell a story.  There once was a man, and he loved cars.  He particularly loved roadsters.  They were his passion.  But there wasn't anyone else around who had the passion for roadsters that this man had.  But then the man had a son.  And he formed a plan - he would instill in his son the same passion for roadsters that he had.  And he would build a special car just for him.  Over the years, as the son grew up, the man and the son worked on the roadster that would one day be the son's.  The son grew to love roadsters.  Then the day finally came when the man handed the keys of the roadster over to the son.  It was his.  So now the son could enjoy the roadster just like his father did.

 One day, the son's friends came to him with a new idea for fun - off-roading.  The son thought this sounded great.  He took his roadster out off-roading.  But when he got the roadster home, he knew there would be a problem.  There was mud all over the roadster, inside and out (it was a convertible).  There were dents and dings all over from the son running into things while out off-roading.  And to top it off, the axle was broken, and the car wouldn't run.

 What would the father do?

 What if the Bible tells a story similar to the story above.  About how a Father created a world for His children, His people to inhabit.  And how He worked to instill in them a love for that world and the appropriate way to treat that world, and each other as they resided in it?  And how man was led astray to do things they weren't supposed to do, and thus brought trouble where once all was well?

 What does the Father in the Bible do?  The Bible continues with its story to tell us of a Father who loves His children, despite the wrongs they have done.  He reaches out to them and initiates a forgiveness and reconciliation process whereby the rupture in their relationship can be healed, and things can be made anew and restored to what they once were.  The Father loves His children and wants to spend time with them.  He wants to do things with them and instill in them the same love that He has.

 If the father in our car story was anything like the Father in the Bible, he might do some of the following.  He would initiate contact with the son.  Yes, he would express his disappointment in the son's actions and the damages from that, but he would work to restore the unease and discomfort that the son experiences knowing he let down his father.  He would work to once again have the son by his side, so they could go about restoring the roadster, and perhaps, if it was the son's wish, to start working on an off-road vehicle.  The father and son would be together.

 At West Side Church of Christ, we believe our Father in heaven is working to restore His relationship with His wayward children.  He has great things in mind for His children, and He wants them to come back to Him, so together He and His children can put things back the way things were intended.  This is the reconciling work that Jesus did on the cross - so that God and man could be together again.  At West Side, we celebrate this coming together, and encourage each other to take part in the reconciliation and restoration process.

Mike Hendricks