The Jesus Car
Charlie says it's not his car; it belongs to Christ. And therefore, it’s available to people who need it.
I’ll be traveling next week, so I won’t be sending out an edition of this newsletter. See you in two weeks.
Charlie handed me the key fob for his Lexus in his driveway and told me to figure out the details.
No pressure.
I slid into the white leather seat and wondered how to start the car. I rolled down the window and asked Charlie that question. I’ve never had a car without an actual key.
“Put your foot on the brake and hit the start button,” Charlie said.
I was just the latest in a long list of people he offered the car (my car is in the shop). A woman in Charlie’s neighborhood got wind of the fact that he lets people use his car and asked if she could drive it to Minneapolis. I think she borrowed it from him again at a later date. A guy in my Friday group has taken it on a trip through Iowa. And yet another one talks about how smoothly the car drives.
Charlie calls it the Jesus car. It’s not his car; it belongs to Christ. And therefore, it’s available to people who need it.
You wouldn’t necessarily expect a loaner to be an upgrade over what you normally drive. But I drive a 2009 Chevy Impala, so most cars are an upgrade. In the Jesus car, I feel like royalty.
The steering wheel automatically retracts when you shut off the engine, then goes right back into place when you start the car again. The car has three buttons that will remember three different seat and steering wheel settings. It has a backup camera with a sensor that beeps when someone is behind you. And the mirrors on both sides of the car flash orange when someone is in your blind spot.
Remember how you felt when you got your first car and went cruising down Main Street? That’s a pretty good description of how I felt pulling out of his driveway last week. Free. Loved. And without a care in the world. Well, other than the huge car repair bill I may end up with this week. But I wasn’t thinking about that.
I’m learning that slowing down and living deeper is about so much more than just intentionally pulling away from the fray. It’s also about learning from a guy like Charlie who models how to use possessions for the kingdom. He takes his hands off and offers them to Christ. And it leaves a lasting impression.
My car has been in the shop for over a week and Charlie hasn’t texted me once to ask about the car. But to be fair, he’s on an extended vacation with his new wife, so I wouldn’t be checking in if I were him either. Even so, Charlie isn’t kidding around about the Jesus car. He tosses you the keys and it belongs to you for a while.
I’ll never be able to offer a Lexus in such a manner to people in need, but hopefully, people will be asking me how to start my Chevy Impala one day.
In the month of May, you can get the Finding Common Ground e-book boxed set (Books 1-3) for only $2.99 in the U.S. Don't miss out on this deal!
Grab a cup of coffee and escape into this collection of heartfelt essays (the complete Boxed Set of the Finding Common Ground Series).
Here’s what you’ll find inside:
Common Grounds will take you on a pilgrimage with the author to thirty coffee shops in Omaha, Nebraska. He spent $136.42 on coffee and a few donuts, but it was a small price to pay for the commonality he felt between the patrons, baristas, and himself. And standing on common ground gave him strength in the most unexpected of ways. Maybe it’ll do the same for you.
Sacred Grounds invites you to reminisce about your first loves, first experiences, and first favorites, all of which shape us in ways our second loves, second experiences, and second favorites do not. Dive into this section and go back to a simpler time in your life.
Higher Grounds will inspire you to always be on the lookout for God. You’ll read about him showing up in a nursing home during a Christmas caroling excursion, in a bowling alley during a rock concert, in a restaurant as two elderly people seek the company of strangers, and so much more.
Here are some tidbits you might find interesting this week:
Until the end of May, Kobo is featuring Return to Cricket Springs (my latest novel) as one of its Great Reads $4.99 and Under promotion. The e-book is discounted by 25% during this sale. Click this link, then click the Kobo icon. This sale is for people in Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Can I Be Friends With People Who Don’t Read Books? Before you click on the article and start reading, the answer is, of course. But sharing a common reading bond helps.
“If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look ‘little’ or ‘big.’” –Elisabeth Elliot
Here’s a list of works that entered the public domain this year in the U.S.
Christian Unity Is Deeper than ‘Getting Along’ by Trevin Wax is food for thought.
When Lee isn’t writing essays, devotional books, or Christian fiction, he is a freelance editor, as well as a freelance journalist who has written hundreds of articles for various newspapers and magazines. He’s also a fan of NASCAR, baseball, tennis, books, movies and coffee shops.