Under the Hood

Steve recently wrote us while on a retreat and provoked us with this meditation that I thought you might enjoy:

"There are categories that I am trying to drill down deeper in for my own life, and represent very deep rooted hopes for all of us…

I recently heard of a father giving his son a car for successfully graduating high school. There was one problem. The car was pink. The father insisted it was “salmon”, but the young man was not convinced. He tried to convey his gratefulness, but how in the world could he be caught by his friends driving a pink car. Then, at just the right time when the father discerned his son’s anguish was about to drive him crazy, he put his arm around his son’s shoulder and walked with him to the front of the car. “Lift the hood” he said. With considerable reluctance, the young man did so. To his utter shock, staring him in the face were 300 raging horses penned up in a modified engine. One hiccup on the gas pedal and no one sees the color of the car any more, only the color of your tail lights.

The father then seized this teaching moment. “Son, don’t ever evaluate a car until you look under the hood. Ever.”

Christians can look great (or maybe pink) on the outside. But it is what is under the hood that determines their true nature and thus fruitfulness.

The next e mail will be the first of a few categories where Christians need to look under the hood.

Most of my current retreat has been just that. Looking under the hood. It has been good.

I hope they will help you, the people I love the most look beyond the externals and under the hood"