“The next time you go to play Ricky Bobby, in traffic, know that this is EVERYTHING, that is holding the front of your car on, from the motor to license plate, jus sayin!”
The above is the caption and pic taken by a father while working on his daughter’s damaged car.
I see a powerful message here for life, hope and faith. What might not seem like much, but what keeps us together are small things. However placed in the places that matter, it’s everything.
What keeps us together are strategically placed connectors. Without them, our world would be broken.
I could enumerate as many scriptural principles as bolts and nuts pictured above that isolated might not seem like much, however, as you lose one such connection to the original plan, in short order you lose enough of those things, your life purpose and meaning will be broken and you will be stranded.
Simple things left out of your life might seem very simple and maybe unnecessary things to the uninformed, in time can cause indescribable trouble.
In the pic, it looks like maybe 30 little things.
In reality, it’s summarized in three things. Bolts, Washers, and Nuts.
Yes, over and over, these three basic things hold the world together. This car and everything else.
1. Bolts, Washers, and nuts.
Three things. Over and over.
In the right places,
For definition and illustration.
A bolt pierces the holes of the two parts and has the means to hold them together. An official definition, A bolt is a long metal object that screws into a nut and is used to fasten things together.
A nut is a type of fastener with a threaded hole. Nuts are almost always used in conjunction with a mating bolt to fasten multiple parts together.
A washer is a flat thin ring or a perforated plate used in joints or assemblies to ensure tightness to the point of staying together.
These three principle things hold together the world. From skyscrapers to airplanes.
In the kingdom, there are three things. Not to say all of the other things are not important, however without these three things, all of it falls apart.
I believe three things that illustrate this.
Our Faith.
Our Hope.
Our Love.
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
What we believe in.
What we hope for.
What we love.
These three things.
1. Faith
I believe in the Word of God. I believe in the God of the Word. I believe that the Word of God is true for my life.
2. Hope
What my anticipation is in regard to His Word. What is my reward, benefit, expectation as I live out my life in faith towards God.
3. Love
This will inspire and motivate my passion, values and the things that I am emotionally, intellectually and spiritually attached to.
Ultimately these three things will define our decisions, dedication, and destiny.
This same father a few days ago posted this pic in relation to this car he is working on.
I surmise this drawing and diagram came from the manufacturer. It shows where these three connectors go that ultimately hold this car together.
If one was given all the parts without a picture of what it should look like and directions of where each part goes, with very few exceptions even if one had every part and bolt and screw and washer, they would never be able to make sense of what to do or benefit from what was given to them.
I will be so bold to say this is an allegory of our lives.
We were made by God.
We can learn by learning, living and loving the word of God, even the complex systems and situations can come together if we follow the pattern and directions that God has given us in His Word.
Because God has Faith in you.
God desires, hopes for the best in you.
God ultimately has shown us in the past, present, and even in the future his great love for us.
How do we know it? Through his Word? Absolutely.
But in real-world terms, we experience the reality of His word when we seek to fit our lives together according to his pattern and directions.
What we believe in, what we desire, and what we love, these are the things that will form our lives.
We can either build a life after the pattern of our maker, or you could build something else.
Faith – I believe in the Word of God that informs me about the God of the Word.
Hope – I desire and ultimately truly hope for the results and promises of God’s word.
Love – I love God. I love what he loves. I will strive to do things that demonstrate my love for him.
That is what will survive and remain.
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
What holds us together might not seem like much.
However, in the end, it is everything!
In Him, By Him, Through Him,
Scott A. Phillips