Pony Car Parables (2)

Light in the Darkness:

In restoring ‘Vinny’ (the Mustang), I found I needed to replace the vintage headlights with a brighter set and realign them. Then I thought...

Headlights that are too dim or not aligned properly do not give a proper view of reality in the darkness. Likewise, our ‘lights’ may need adjusted. We will have misperceptions at times; it’s part of the road-trip. If we are teachable, the solution will likely be a simple matter of adjusting the screws of an understanding of Scripture and/or the nature of God that’s a little off.

Scripture is key: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,”―Ps 119:105. Like Vinny, we need new headlights, new light in our head. We need Jesus, the Light of the World; and we need to walk in the path He lights for us. Are you trusting and following His light, or are you still driving by your own dim understanding of reality? Eph 4:23 says, “...be renewed (restored) in the spirit of your mind.”

Later, in Eph 5:8 & 11 that we “were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light...Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.” Are you? We’ve become pretty decent at avoiding a measure of immorality, greed, filthy talk, impurity, etc. (from verses 3-6). But, are we exposing them for what they really are. How can people repent if they don’t see the sinfulness of sin? And, how can they know that without someone caring enough to explain it to them? After all, we are the ones with the light, not them. And, we can drive in relative darkness with our lights off for a while, but a wreck is in the near future if we do. As Jesus might say, “No one turns on the headlights to shine them where no one will see it. No, they turn them on to better see the road and to be seen.”

In our restoration, as in any classic, new lights are crucial. In this present darkness, it’s the only way to see the ‘highway of holiness’ (Isa 35:8). And, they greatly increase the safety of ourselves, of others, and help protect the investment of our Master Restorer.