Forgiveness

I have a relative who wonderfully illustrates the theme of this book. Many years ago, not long after he was married (1972), he found himself in a precarious situation. His car would no longer run and not being a mechanic, he took it to a local shop to find out the problem. Like many people he really depended upon his automobile for daily living, i.e., work, shopping, etc.. He dropped off the car and waited for the phone call to inform him of the problem. To say the least he was embarrassed/mortified to discover that the reason his car had 'died' was because it was very, very low on oil. He had forgotten to change the oil for a very long time. The engine locked up due to a lack of lubrication. Now, I am not a mechanic by profession but I have learned over the years the absolute necessity of keeping the engine properly lubricated to avoid problems like my relative was facing. As a 'tent-making pastor' for more than 50 years, 2 of the 'secular' jobs I worked ('secular' is a wrong description for work to a Christian/ pastor because everything is 'sacred') in order to feed and provide for my family as well as ministering to a small congregation were a service manager position for Good Year in Norman, Oklahoma and an Auto Parts Manager at Cole’s Auto Parts in Litchfield, Michigan. Both places of employment emphasized the absolute necessity of regular care and maintenance of an automobile in order to derive maximum efficiency from that mode of transportation. To be sure, keeping a sufficient level of lubricants in various places (engine, transmission, crankshaft, etc.) must be a priority if one wants to have reliable transportation and avoid an unexpected breakdown. That’s why we take our vehicles to the garage/dealership on a regular basis (emphasis mine).