Loose Lug Nuts

A few weeks ago, I had my truck serviced for some minor maintenance.   Among the items that needed attention is that my truck needed new rotors and new brake pads.   My truck was ready at the time promised, and I gladly paid the mechanic for his service.   Unfortunately, my truck did not perform so well when I drove it from the place of service.   The brake issues had been corrected, but to my dismay my truck had this vibration in the left side of the truck that had not been there before.   A few hours later, my truck was back in front of the mechanic.  After going on a test drive with the mechanic, the mechanic could see that there was a problem.  After looking underneath my truck and examining many things over the course of about an hour, the mechanic discovered the problem and it was this:  to his dismay and embarrassment, the mechanic had failed to tighten the lug nuts on the front tire on the driver’s side.   After tightening those few lug nuts, I got in my truck and it drove quite well.

Little things mean a lot.   A few lug nuts weighing ounces made all the difference in how a truck weighing several tons drove.  In I Corinthians, the apostle Paul uses the human body as a metaphor for the health and vitality of the body of Christ, the Church.    Read these words from I Corinthians 12 which say:

¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be?²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

No one would argue that an eye that weighs less than 1 pound is unimportant for a 250-pound man to view a sunrise or that an ear that weighs less than 1 pound is unimportant for a 125-pound teenager to hear the voice of her sweetheart.   Little things mean a lot in the parts of the human body, and they mean a lot in the health and vitality of the church, the body of Christ.   As winter comes near, we will be grateful for that person that flips the switch to turn on the heat in our church buildings.   As people come near, I am grateful for those who offer a kind smile or a warm embrace.   Thanks be to God.   Have a joy-filled week. -   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    Lord and God, I thank you for the little things that mean much in my life and your kingdom.   As I graciously receive them, help me to graciously give; through Christ our Lord. Amen.