The One Thing

The One Thing

My days of multi-tasking behind the wheel are over. I used to be able to accomplish volumes of work, recreation, musical entertainment, food preparation and consumption while driving my vehicle. But for the last couple of years, I have experienced a deterioration in my ability to accomplish the wide array of activities that I used to enjoy. Now when I drive…..I just drive. I always had a certain amount of time to achieve a particular objective before my wheels met the shoulder of the road or the bumpity-bump of tires on center line reflectors….not anymore. My worst fears have been realized. I can blame it on age or I can blame it on Parkinson’s but the sad fact is, I now have to keep my eyes on the road in order to keep my car between the ditches. I can’t follow the rules of the road if I am not focused on that which is beyond my windshield. I have been forced to do one thing…..drive.

We live in a confusing, distracting, and harsh world made even more so as we head into the political season. It’s time for the dreaded polarizing plunge when folks on the far right or left on the issues are seen as bold heroes who stand for good or bad, depending on which side you choose. While the vast majority of people somewhere right or left in the moderate range, struggling for clarity, understanding, and some mercy, are accused of being weak and wishy-washy. You do know it has begun when promises and hard lines are the order of the day with some candidates assuming Jesus would vote for them and you need to as well.

Please be sensitive to the fact that people are different and they disagree. Christians are people too and we have our differences. Keep in mind, however, the concept Paul espouses throughout his writings – unity in Christ. Regardless of where you stand on the political, cultural, and social issues of the day, Jesus binds us together as His followers and this is most evident as we, “Bear with one another in love.”

In my car, I don’t have time for distractions. I have driving to do and I have to keep my eyes on the road. As Christian people who are entitled to an opinion and a world view, don’t let these perspectives distract you in overall purpose – that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit might be proclaimed and glorified.

I will close with these words of the Apostle Paul to the Philippian church. God used this passage to change my life some forty years ago:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining for what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14 NIV)

Andy O.
(704) 300-0062