Have You Checked your Oil Lately?

Have You Checked your Oil Lately?

            I remember a time, years ago, when I was selling a car.  We had advertised it but hadn’t had much luck.  Finally, a man stopped to take a look.  I met him, and prepared to take him around the vehicle but he went straight to the engine.  I opened the hood, and he took out a rag, checked the oil, saw that it was clean (thankfully I had just changed it!), and shut the hood.  He simply said, “I’ll take it.”  I offered to show him the rest of the car but he said he didn’t need to see it.  He knew that if the oil was clean and changed, the car had been well taken care of.

            I was a bit taken back by the man’s clarity and simplicity.  He had a litmus test to check the quality of the car and the owner’s care ((though I had to admit with five young children, I was thankful he didn’t look inside!)  I find that a similar litmus test applies to our spiritual lives.  If we want to know the quality and condition of a person’s relationship with God, we don’t check the oil, but I do think we can look to one’s prayer life.  When that place is solid, regular, and functioning, there is typically a caliber and power within his or her relationship with God.  But if that prayer oil is old and dirty or low, there is good chance that the persons “relationship status” with God is rusty and in need of attention.  The engine just doesn’t produce the power it was designed to offer.

            All this is to say that this weekend, we have the opportunity to spend some time with a man who has established his and our prayer life as the top priority for his life and vision for Methodists in Virginia.  Bishop Young Jin Cho will be here to consecrate our new building and will be preaching at our 9:17 and 11:00 services.   Bishop Cho begins and ends with prayer.  He has established prayer as the central theme and foundation of our work together as Methodists in Virginia.  As a result, I find that when he speaks, I tend to listen more carefully.  It seems fitting to give more trust and credibility to a person who centers their life on prayer.  When they are listening well to God, it is a lot easier to listen to them.

            So I hope that you will join us this weekend and listen to our Bishop.  It is a unique opportunity that you will not want to miss.  Even if you are coming to Saturday night Connect or our 8:00 AM service, I encourage you to be a “double dipper” this week.  See you there!

In Christ,

Pastor Pete