Not for the Cupholders--February 17, 2021

Not for the Cupholders--February 17, 2021

“And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” [Colossians 3:17] 

What’s the point of a car? And here’s a hint—don’t say cupholders. 

For that matter, don’t say, “To make my neighbors envious,” and don’t say, “Impressing potential dates.” Also out is, “Good investment.” 

Come on, the point of a car is transportation. And while there may well be times when you just drive around for the sake of driving around, most of your car time is spent actually GETTING SOMEWHERE that you want to end up… or need to end up (like work), at any rate. The point of a car is to get you somewhere, and a car does it more quickly and with less mussed hair than if you had walked in the rain or ridden a motorcycle to get there. A car is for getting there… wherever there is. 

So, if I asked you, “Where will you go on vacation when the pandemic is over?” and you answered me, “Oh, we'll take the car,” and said nothing else, I would think you had missed the point of why cars exist. I’m frankly less interested in which vehicle gets you there—I am asking where “there” is. 

Same thing if I asked you, “Where do you go when you leave the house in the morning?” Even though it would be technically accurate, I guess in a sense, to say, “I get in the car,” the real thrust of my question is, “What is your destination—are you going to work? To school? To run errands? The moon, or possibly Mars?” 

So we are clear, then, at this point, I hope about the “point” of a car. And I hope we are just as clear about what I would mean if I asked you where you go when you first head out the door in the morning. The car is a means, a vessel, quite literally a vehicle, for getting you to the main thing, the main reason, the real purpose of your trip. 

So then, what if I asked you, “What is your life for?” 

What if I asked you, “What is ANY life FOR?” 

Here’s a hint—don’t answer, “To find more places to set my drinks.” And don’t answer, “To make my neighbors envious,” or “Impressing potential dates,” either. 

But for that matter, don’t tell me about making money or earning a particular promotion at work—that’s not really what life, anybody’s life, is about. And don’t tell me that the point of your life is to become the head of the PTA or to teach your kids to make THEIR lives all about money or promotions, either.  Nor is it enough of a life's purpose to just get your political party's candidates elected, or to help your company destroy its competition, or to just get to retire somewhere sunny.  

The point of life is not—like you may have thought in high school—about being popular. It’s not—like you thought in your 20s—about proving to your parents you can make it on your own. It’s not—like you thought in your 30s—about manufacturing the cookie cutter life of “success” with 2.5 kids and a dog. And it’s not, as the 40s and 50s often have it, about making a name for yourself at work, finding a new love interest (you know, when you've grown bored with the old one) and piling up money for a cushy retirement in your 60s, 70s, and 80s. 

To say that any of those things are “the point” of life is like saying the point of a car is to have nice upholstery, a decent stereo, or plentiful cupholders. To say that the “point” of your life is to make more money, rack up more titles, or improve your social scene is like saying the place you “go” in the morning is “your car,” rather than the actual place to which you DRIVE your car (i.e., a job, an errand, a family member’s house, etc.). It’s forgetting that there is an actual destination in mind, which is the reason for getting IN the car in the first place. 

So when the writers of the New Testament asked themselves, “What are our lives… for?” they ended up all coming to the same one-word answer: “Christ.” 

Note (said the religious professional) I did not say, “Going to church,” although there are reasons for that just as there are reasons for putting gas into your car every week. Note also that I did not say simply, “Getting to heaven,” because the Bible sees eternal life as something that begins even now and that we aren’t just biding our time to get Somewhere Else. 

The point of life, for us as followers of Jesus, is Christ himself. To know him, to be known by him, to become like him, and to experience being held by him even when we are decidedly UN-like him. To share the connection we have found in Christ with other people. To participate in what Christ is still doing in the world around us, moment by moment, day by day. To reconcile the way Christ reconciles. To lift up the stepped-on people like Jesus. To have full and deep connection with the Father and at the same time to be grounded in the Father’s love deeply enough to include the outcast and the left-behind people. All of that is the point of life. Yours, and mine. 

That means it may… or more likely may NOT, have a lot of time spent inside the four walls of a church. Most Christians will have to spend the majority of their time in workplaces, homes, and at the store, but bringing Christ into those places as they go. 

That means it may… or more likely may NOT, be that your job has anything to do with “ministry” as most people define it. Most Christians are actually secret agents who do their jobs while having a calling beyond contracts and paychecks to use their work life for the Kingdom. 

That means the whole purpose of your life is not, first and foremost, your job. Or supporting your political party's candidate in lock-step. Or getting rich. Or retiring to Florida (Lord, have mercy, no!). Or even making your kids "successful." Our fullest and deepest purpose is about the sort of people we become, as we are held by the one who loves us: our purpose is Christ. 

It’s fine if a lifetime also includes other things like promotions and retirement savings and all the rest—but just remember, those are cupholders on a car. They are fine accessories, but the point of the car itself is to get you somewhere. 

Today, go where God is leading you. But remember that the point of the journey is not to stay in the car forever. 

Lord Jesus, keep us focused on you as our goal and purpose in life, so that we can see everything else in its right place.