I recall that when I first hired a driver, I did most of the driving even though my driver always sat in the driver’s seat. What do I mean? Well first, in some false sense of humility, I sat in the front seat beside the driver rather than behind – diagonally opposite the driver’s seat, popularly called the “owner’s corner”. Second, whenever we were on the road and he seemed to be getting too close to any car, I would notice myself slamming my imaginary brakes; in short, I was usually edgy and often either making imaginary turns, or honking my imaginary horn, or accelerating or braking. What’s more? I kept telling him how he should drive – almost every minute.
In a matter of weeks, I noticed I was too worked up whenever my driver drove the car, much more than I used to be when I drove myself. I had to make a decision to either drive the car myself or trust him enough to drive. I was done with trying to make him drive my way. From the day I decided to really let him drive the car, I noted that I had some peace of mind; I could read and work in the car, and at a time, I even dozed off while he drove. Hmm! He wasn’t a bad driver anyway, I later reassured myself.
Today, as I ponder on the way many Christians run their lives, this experience comes to mind. Many believers claim to have given their lives to Christ, but in reality, they do the “driving”. Christ says “let’s go left”; we say “I think right is better, after all, everyone that matters is going right”. Christ says, “My beloved, we need to go slowly right now because there is danger ahead”, but we tell him to move at 160km/h so we don’t seem left behind. Christ tells us to stop at a fuel station to get a refill and renewing with the Word; we respond – “let’s do it at another station, I’m so busy now and in too much of a hurry”. No wonder many believers get so worked up in life!
Beloved, is Jesus Christ really the driver of our lives? If he is, then we should be experiencing what the Bible calls the peace that passeth all understanding. The believer has been called into a place of rest, because Christ has given us all we would ever need for life (2 Peter 1:3).If we would truly let him lead our lives, we would start living life indeed. Jesus said – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28 KJVA). Do you find Christianity easy and interesting? Do you experience this rest Jesus talked about? If your answer is No, could it be that you do not trust him enough to drive your life, like I did with my driver? Could it be that you are not learning of him?
– Tope S. Aladenusi
