The Parable of the Old Cadillac

The Old Cadillac

 

She drove by with nothing left of her former elegance. 30 years ago the Coupe De Ville was the top of the line, now she was just a shabby old car with fainted paint, weak springs, and a smoking engine. It became a metaphor for life in that moment. If the car had been maintained carefully over the years, the old sedan would almost be a classic. She could have been renewed and kept her beauty, but it was evident her end was near, her destiny a scrapyard. She had been used to the max, worn-out. I imagined what her life cycle might have been. Her first owner was an older man, who bought her for luxury, perhaps the first Cadillac in his life at a time when he could finally afford one. He washed and polished the Caddy, storing her in his garage between drives. Then, when he died, she passed to a son who filled her up with teenagers, his kids and their friends. She could haul a team and their gear! When his son was ready to drive, she was starting to show her age, and she passed on to him as a 'first car.' Her time with him were a rough couple of years and she was finally traded off to a used car lot. It was a downhill slide from there to her present condition.

2012 is about to end. We're all about to become a year older. Older doesn't have to mean 'worn!' We can grow in value and beauty, but only if we chose to live in a way that renews and maintains, that 'redeems the time.' (Eph. 5:16) A redeemer bought another out of debtor's prison or servitude! The wise person sees how quickly life slips into control of circumstances, habits, and sin. So, with the riches of the Christ, he buys ownership of his days to that they can be used for good and God's glory!

If we simply use each day, 'killing time' with self-indulgence and laziness, drifting with the current, the years will quickly slip past and we will find ourselves used up, worn-out. If we invest our days in loving worship of our God and in loving service of our brothers, we will become saints of great beauty. That is why the Scripture urges us to " get out there and walk-better yet, run!-on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline-not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love." (Ephesians 4:1-2, The Message)

Almost 3 centuries ago, John and Charles Wesley, were students at Oxford. Their mother had instilled a deep faith in them. Even as young men they set their sights on doing great things for God. They led a small group of students who were mocked by other students as the "Holy Club." But, these young men, in their service to God, had an amazing impact in England and the American colonies. From their ministry grew Methodism which changed the character of the two nations. These young men challenged themselves with a daily checklist that is still soul-piercing. I recommend it to you. (A personal inventory)

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A PERSONAL INVENTORY CHECK LIST

* Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

* Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

* Do I confidentially pass on to others what was told to me in confidence?

* Can I be trusted?

* Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits (or technology)?

* Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

* Did the Bible live in me today?

* Do I give the Bible time to speak to me everyday?

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* Am I enjoying prayer?

* When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?

* Do I pray about the money I spend?

* Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

* Do I disobey God in anything?

* Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

* Am I defeated in any part of my life?

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* Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?

* How do I spend my spare time?

* Am I proud?

* Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?

* Is there anyone who I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?

* Do I grumble or complain constantly?

* Is Christ real to me?

From Wesley's "Holy Club"