Driver's Seat

In Arizona there is no law prohibiting a passenger to ride in the back of a pick-up truck. This is the fun fact that ran through my head when I saw a young male riding in the bed of a pick-up as I was driving today. My next thought was, 'it is 110 outside and it must be really hot to be back there.' I really didn't think much of any of this until I started to write down some of my thoughts throughout the day. This event reminded me of story I heard when I was young that depicts there perfect analogy for how our relationship with Christ should be. As we begin to understand life and make our own choices we take the driver's seat. We go where we want to go, decide the speed, design our own path, set goals, pick up others, and we ultimately make every choice based on what we want. Then we hear about Christ and He gets into our car. As we are learning about who he is and what it means to believe in Him, we slowly but surely trust in him. Eventually we make the choice to let him drive.
We surrender control. This is where the original story I heard ended, and where my comments begin. Although we have made the decision to allow him to drive (accept him into our hearts) we have the initial surrendering point when we get out of the car and make the choice to sit in the passenger seat. As He begins driving we don't like where he is going or tell him to go faster and sometime we reach for the wheel and pull it in the direction we want to go. Our selfishness. We think we are right. We want to decide. The car mimics our outburst and swerves all over the road. Maybe we hit the railing and damage our car. Now we have to wait till it is fixed again. Or our outburst didn't ruin the car, but grabbing the wheel made our course less enjoyable. Jesus didn't fight against out rebellion, He allowed it to happen. Our intercession disrupted our ride, but Jesus sat in the driver's seat and watched everything happen, with a look of love in his eyes as we act out. Once we let go of the wheel, He places his hand back on the steering wheel. We continue the on the journey.
As we sit in the passenger seat we can look around, not worry about when we need to fill up the tank, or what turns are being made to get there. But again our boredom and need for control takes over again and we turn up the music or give directions to the driver. Again we cause a disturbance, but like the other, it is only temporary. Eventually after being in the front seat long enough we decide to make another choice. We get into the back seat and can no longer control the radio or reach for the wheel. We make the choice to trust Jesus more and ourselves less. We become like children.
But in the back seat we don't agree with the choices the driver is making and yell out directions and tell Him to speed up or slow down. He listens to us. This goes on for a while, but we begin to learn that our directions are not nearly as good as His and we learn to stay quiet and enjoy the scenery. Our last move is the back of the pick-up, just like the young man I saw earlier today. We make the choice to get into the back. Where there is no comfortable seat, no seat belt, and we have no control. But just like the young man I saw earlier, he was completely content on where he was, relaxed, enjoying the view, smiling at things that were pleasing, he was simply there for the ride.
In the bed of a pick-up you have no control. You have no direct communication with the driver, but you have put your trust in them fully. Trusting that they will keep you safe and not depending on a seat belt. You trust them to signal and look before switching lanes. Trust them to get you to where you need to be going. When you make the choice to sit in the back of the pick-up and let Jesus take you to where you need to be. There are no worries because you are taken care of. Your only task know is to enjoying the ride and your surroundings.