It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This down payment from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life. – Ephesians 1:13-14 (The Message)
Driving for many is an economic necessity. Driving is also act of freedom for many, letting us go where we wish. Beyond that, it is further an exercise of trust within a community. Every time we are on the road we place our trust in many things. We trust our own driving skills and vehicle. We also must trust the driving skills and vehicles of others. We must trust that other drivers will yield when they are supposed to and follow the expectations of the road. We also trust the roads to be in sufficiently good condition to support driving.
As we head into the summer season of travel, it is a good time to remember how interdependent we are. Those who manage the upkeep of vehicles, make sure that roadways are safe and in good condition, and all of the behind the scenes infrastructures of transportation make an unseen but essential contribution to our safety. As the summer is not just the season of travel but also the season of road work we can remember the value of that work and those who do it. While backups can be frustrating, it is also worth remembering how much we rely on the maintenance done that allows us to move around as we do.
“Faith” is best understood as trust. Fundamentally it is trust in God that God will be true to the promises that God makes, including the promise of our salvation. Such trust does not end there, however. It also includes trust in the world that God has made. We trust that in some way God is at work in the structures around us that maintain our society and make it function well. When a society functions well then our lives are better, and that is God’s work through the structures of society. Martin Luther calls this God’s “left-hand” reign. It is not God’s primary work but it is God working in stealth to make life better for all people. Luther might not have envisioned auto mechanics when talking about this, but it fits perfectly with his core concept.
As I work through Meta Herrick Carlson’s book Ordinary Blessings, this week I wish to highlight her prayer of blessing for cars:
Protection for those who travel,
those who teach new drivers,
those who build and repair vehicles,
those who produce clean energy,
those who maintain bridges and roads.
May we remember and be grateful for these networks of support, and see God moving in stealth behind them.