Of Washing and Waxing and a Job Well Done...

(Image courtesy of http://kia-buzz.com.)

My red, Chevy Cobalt was looking rather dirty yesterday.  For one, my cat thinks it's her job to leave her footprints all over the hood, windshield, and top.  Next, the birds think it's their duty to leave me presents from the sky as they fly overhead.  Lastly, dust, dirt, and
salt threaten to eat away at the exterior.  So yesterday I decided it was finally time to wash and wax my car.

It was bright and sunny and nearly 70 degrees as I parked my car in front of my house near the hose and began to use water, but very conservatively.  Since I now pay for my own water and electricity, instead of seeing water or light I see dollar signs.  So I wet down my car and then quickly ran over to shut the water off.  Then I scrubbed and scrubbed using a bucket, soap, and a sponge.

Eventually the car began to look clean.  Most of the splattered bugs even came off the front bumper and windshield.

I dried it using an old shirt and then parked it under a tree to offer a little shade.  I then used another old shirt and applied the wax.  It was a bit of a workout, but I got 'er done.  Then I let the wax dry and wiped it off with another old shirt.  (I got that trick from my dad - the old shirts.)

My bandanna was wet with sweat by this point, so when I finished, I stood inside the garage out of the sun.  The only living, breathing creature within 200 yards of me was my cat, so I decided to talk to it.  I said (in the vernacular), "Don't look too bad, do it, cat?"  I always call my cat, cat.  Its real name is Tiny, but I prefer cat.  It's not like it knows what's going on anyway...  All in all, I felt a sense of proud accomplishment looking at my car shining in the sunlight.

As I stood there and felt accomplished and proud of the work I had done, a thought suddenly occurred to me.  If I, in my own finite mind, can feel good about cleaning a car, how much greater does my Heavenly Father "feel" when He cleans us?  How great and glorified our God must "feel" when one of His saints stand before Him in Heaven.  I can picture God looking at him or her, clean and made white as snow through His Son Jesus.  I can picture God's radiant smile erupting on His face as He says, "Well done."

God will get glory in every situation.  If people don't give it to Him, then He will get it from the rocks (Luke 19:40).  What glory there is for the Father when He cleans a dirty, wretched sinner like me.

"Let everything that has breath PRAISE THE LORD!" (Psalm 150:6).


Praise Him!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Danger of Entitlement

Image
(Image courtesy of http://pixgood.com.) As I said in yesterday's post, I have been coaching an elementary-aged basketball team for the last month or so. Last night was our last practice, so I decided to do it the old "Cougar Camp" way and have competitions with prizes awarded to the winners. ("Cougar Camp" is a week-long, summer baseball camp in my hometown for elementary school kids that my dad has organized for over a decade. Prizes are awarded each day to kids who win competitions or display great character.)
Read more

Election Season Necessitates the Gospel

Image
(Image courtesy of Associated Press.) It is certainly election season, and we as Christians ought to pray. Not only should we pray for the salvation of lost souls in the land where we live, but I think it is our responsibility to vote. It is a liberty that God has given to us, so we ought to steward this duty well. If I were being honest (which I will be), I am a follower of the Constitution Party. The Constitution is one of the greatest, civic documents ever written, and the Founding Fathers did an excellent job in defining the role of government. The problem is the Constitution is rarely obeyed today.
Read more

Are We Living in the Last Days?

Image
(Image courtesy of davidjeremiah.blog).  “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…” (1 Timothy 4:1). When I was a senior in high school, I went to an FCA football camp at Taylor University. My parents dropped me off; I didn’t know a single person, although the camp was filled with a couple hundred boys my age. The unique part of the experience is that I was one of maybe a handful of light-skinned folks. The rest of my fellow campers were from Chicago public school systems; someone had paid their way to attend. Many didn’t know the Lord, but it was a great opportunity for them – and for me.
Read more