As you may notice, the blog has been lacking on the weekends lately. This is due to eventful weekends, limited computer access, and lack of sleep. You see, this past weekend, we celebrated Labor Day Redneck Style - At the NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. No, I am not a fan. We had a chance to go and figured - why not see what the fuss is about? So, we piled into our friend Alan's diesel truck and headed to the race to experience the chaos. I must admit, I've never experienced anything quite like NASCAR... nor have I ever seen as many half naked people wearing jean shorts... but that discussion is for another day.
Believe it or not, NASCAR taught me several things about God.
First and foremost, A NASCAR race is kinda like a personal relationship with God. It is difficult to fully explain and is best understood first hand. Similarly, there is no way to explain the tar smell, the loud noise, the interesting folks, and the unique energy that creates a NASCAR race - even TV doesn't do it justice - you simply have to experience the event on your own. Just like, it doesn't matter how hard I try to relay my personal relationship with Jesus, I can never quite explain it - you will never fully comprehend it... unless you have your own. In the words of Paul, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed....Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:11,13). All I can tell you is - a relationship with God is awesome - you won't be disappointed if you have one! Or, to use the words of Joel Goddard, a singer and songwriter, "you tell me what strawberries taste like and I'll tell you what my Jesus is like; all you can say is - 'take a bite!'." Its hard to explain God, but man is the experience worthwhile.
Secondly, NASCAR illustrates sin quite well. As I was watching the race, I found myself zeroing in on one car and watching it go round and round. I couldn't tear my eyes off that one car... it made me dizzy, sick even... and, although I knew it wasn't good for me - I kept watching as the car went round and round, but yet, went nowhere. You see, the car was like sin - easily entangling me, catching my fancy. Just like that car captured my attention, so does sin. We zero in on one sin in particular and find ourselves continuing in its path, getting nowhere. We get sick, dizzy, and ruin our relationship with God. Although the sin isn't good for us, we keep at it thinking eventually it will take us somewhere that matters - yet, we continue going round and round... getting no closer to God. As you know, it is very easy to get caught up in sin. In Psalm 78:32 we learn, "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe." The people in this verse continued to travel around the sin racetrack instead of breaking free to the finish line. Hebrews 12:1 warns us of this entangling sin when it states, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Its easy to get trapped - we need to be alert. Don't get stuck riding in circles. Be aware and cut off the sin so you can move forward. And, be alert, even Christians get caught up in the endless cycle of sin. 2 Peter 2:20 tells us, "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning." You see, the open road is quite different from the race track - an unencumbered relationship with God is a wonderful experience. And, once you know what a true relationship with God is, the dizzier and more disappointed you will become while chasing sin round and round while getting nowhere.
So, what do you think - do you want to experience Christ first hand or live through the stories of others? Do you want to travel hundreds of miles to get nowhere or do you want to travel hundreds of miles closer to the Lord? You pick - NASCAR - a powerful illustration of a wonderful God.
"Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters..." Isaiah 55:1
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