Steering Wheel

Here is the link for this week's on-line worship service: https://youtu.be/yXGhvdBXCCc
Note: For our in-house worship, as an added precaution, we are leaving the doors open to provide more air circulation. You might like to bring a sweater.

One more casualty to COVID-19 was our annual church picnic. At left is a photo from 2016, when no one imagined what would overtake the world in 2020.

As humans we tend to be proud of our ability to plan and imagine and prepare so that misfortune does not befall us.  Huh! Ever hear the old joke about how to make God laugh? Answer: Tell Him your plans.

I found these notes for a children's story as told by Dr. Kirk years ago. They serve as an excellent reminder of Who is in the driver's seat of our lives.

Steering Wheel or Spare Wheel

How many wheels has a car got? 4,5,6?

You are right if you said six.

Four to carry the car-- and you need to keep them in good order inspected regularly, proper pressure, good alignment, plenty of tread.

One spare tire in case of getting a puncture and it needs to have good pressure too.

One steering wheel --which is the most important one, if not properly handled it can cause an accident.

            Very like life.

Our main wheels are work, business, school, home. Life goes on wheels like this and it needs faithfulness to keep them running.

Our spare wheel is amusements, games, holidays--[church picnics.] We need these too otherwise we can get overworked and, like tires, tempers can wear thin. [Check out statistics on mental health issues, domestic violence, family breakdown while we are mostly denied access to our "spare wheels."]

The steering wheel guides the whole business of life. If it is in the wrong hands the car can be badly driven and can take the wrong road. There is only one safe driver with strong hands and a wise head who knows the road of life and that is God.

Some people think of God only as a spare tire - useful in emergencies - baptisms, marriages, deaths, sickness, trouble. They call on Him then but ignore Him at other times.

Life is like a journey. We don’t know what lies ahead so we all need God’s hand on the steering wheel. 

It is that final sentence that prompted me to include this story in today's blog. For all our sophistication, for all our technology, for all our education, we do not know what lies ahead. I hope our future contains church picnics and concerts and friendship coffee and a choir on Sunday morning. But that is only my hope. I do not "know" what the ending of this day will bring, never mind the coming years. 

But one thing we do know, ...the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you,

5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.1 Peter 1-5