L-Plate

I need to trust in my Beloved just a little bit more if I want to stay safe on the road…

Christ at Cavary (Bartolome Esteban Murillo)

I have recently begun teaching my eldest child to learn to drive.  Learning to drive is a very interesting experience.  So many of my own driving lessons with my own mother and father come to mind as I am teaching my son. 

I remember one rule that my father made for me – and for all the children in the family – when we were learning to drive.  The rule was that we could disagree with anything that the driving teacher said – AFTER the lesson.  We were not allowed to argue about anything while we were in the midst of a driving lesson because this was not a safe time to deal with any concerns and would only distract us from future decision-making on the drive and could result in an accident – even death – as the road is a dangerous place.

I created the same rule for my son as I am teaching him to drive.  We keep conversation to a minimum and ensure that he follows the rules without too much of an argument.  I do not do this to control my son; rather I enforce this rule to protect him.

This reminds me of my God.  There are rules that I am asked to follow.  I am called to follow the rules of my Faith.  Some of those rules are not convenient for me to follow.  I am asked to love my enemy and do good to those who persecute me.  Despite all my complaining and all the excuses, God stands firm in asking me to do those things.  He does not say to love my enemy and do good to those who persecute me, but in this one case with this one person when it is just too much for me to bear that it would be perfectly fine for me to hate that person and to do bad to them because they really overstepped the line this time.  He does not allow me to find anything unforgiveable.  God says I must love them and do good to them ALWAYS…

And just as the rules I create (and the road rules in general) are there to protect my son as he is learning how to drive, so too do these Godly rules exist to protect me while I am learning to be a good Christian.  God is asking me to follow His rules and travel safely along the road.  And just as my son sometimes does not realise what could be dangerous on the road as his driving judgement is not fully formed, sometimes, I too do not understand what is dangerous on the road to salvation and need to have Someone else make the decisions for me.

And this can be very difficult.

You see, my son is still learning to measure distance on the road.  If I left it up to him to make decisions about where the car would be driving, we would have driven into a telegraph pole long ago.  Instead, I need to ask my son to trust in my judgement and stay within his lane even when he is getting nervous about oncoming traffic or even if he feels that the car is likely to travel into the wrong lane.  I am asking him to hold firm in his trust in my judgement, because I have more experience as a driver and my perceptions of the road and my understanding of how the vehicle works and will respond to various manoeuvres are far better than his.

And it is the same with God.  You see, God understands the road to salvation in a way that I never could – not only because He is Creator of all things and therefore understands all things better than me – but because He walked that road personally.  It is ONLY through Christ that I can be saved.

And I have been thinking about that today, as I drive with my son, because I need to trust in my Beloved just a little bit more if I want to stay safe on the road…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.