From an August 2004 publication of mine…

 

         In January of 1976, I went to work for a local school district as their Transportation Superintendent, and one of my first jobs was to change all of the license plates on the nine buses and two vans that were now under my care. As they had just taken delivery of their newest bus in December, which is the one I drove each day, I didn’t think anything about my not having a plate for it, and just really never gave it much thought.

 

            One of the really fun parts of that job was taking various groups on field trips and other outings, as well as to most of their sporting events. So it was that I drove that new bus all over central Illinois, to ISU in Bloomington, to St. Louis for a ballgame, and to Eureka, MO for a day at Six Flags… all of this in addition to running my daily route, whenever I was there to do so. (On the days that I knew I would not be back, I arranged substitute drivers and buses to cover it.) So it was that as summer dawned and school let out, I had put some 7-8,000 miles on that new bus already.

 

            Now, summer is the time of year, in a small district like that, that all of the busses are prepared and taken for their Annual Inspection… a very big deal, and very thoroughly performed… after all, these are our children being transported daily! And since I knew the new bus had no problems, I had waited to take it sometime in July, keeping it available for any summer work that might crop up in the meantime. As it sat in the inspection lane and I walked around it with the State Inspector, he looked at the rear and asked, “How come you have last year’s license plate on this bus?”

 

I was shocked! Apparently, they had transferred plates off of the trade-in before I had started, but had failed to order the new plates for that bus, and I, assuming all had been taken care of properly, just never noticed!

 

How easy it is for us to get caught up in our day-to-day-lives! We grow so accustomed to our daily routine that we begin to take many things for granted. For example, there are clothes in the closet and food in the refrigerator everyday for most of us… and yet we seldom if ever give any thought to how or why it’s there! I had done my walk-around inspection of that bus everyday for most of six months, but never paid any attention to what I assumed was right… I just took for granted that it was!

 

Sometimes, the same holds true for our spiritual lives. We get into a routine of saying almost the same words to God in our prayers each day… or worse, we ‘excuse’ ourselves from praying daily enough times that NOT praying becomes our norm… and we just fail to notice! Maybe you make it a point to come to services as many times as you can each month, but get so caught up in thinking about all that you want to do that afternoon, or worrying about that report due on Tuesday that you fail to listen to the message. Your lips may be singing the words of the hymn, but you are NOT worshiping God with all of your heart and all of your mind!

 

Why is it, then, that it is so easy to see those things in someone else? On the odd occasions that I drove a different bus, I could spot and write down any number of defects as I did my walk-around, and I would wonder how-on-earth anyone could have missed seeing and reporting them to me before! And yet, I had driven students all over the state in what was, essentially, an illegal vehicle! (Not unsafe, mind you, just not legal!)

 

In Matthew chapter 7, and again in Luke chapter 6, Jesus asks us,

 

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

 

 

Sometimes, we really need to stop, take a deep breath, and try to look at ourselves with fresh eyes. We need to try to look at ourselves and our own lives as critically as we might look at others. We need to try to see ourselves in the same light as Christ sees us… and I’m afraid that when we do, we will ALL come up wanting!

 

But you know what? That’s OK! Because Jesus loves each of us just as much as He ever did! He will forgive us as many times as we need! And He will help and guide us in making and shaping our lives into what God has in mind for us… all we have to do is be open to that teaching and that guidance!

 

            So… do that inspection… and open up yourself and be honest about what you see… because, while a vehicle inspection may save your life…

this ‘inspection’ may save your soul!!!