"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18
I love driving! I'm a member of the 5 million mile club-yup, that's a lot of pavement, potholes, and passing lanes! I've driven everything from motorbike to motor-coach, from Pontiac to Peterbilt, but I clearly remember the driver's license Journey . . .
Class 7 (learner's) was pretty easy; I was 14 and so proud of my first card with my picture on it!
Two years later, I went for my class 5 (operator's), and I sure had that terrified instructor sweating! Every time I tried, something different went wrong! I would work on things so the glitches wouldn't happen again, but worry was setting in if I'd ever pass that test. It took three tries to finally clobber it!
It was kind of the same storyline going for my Class 3 (gravel truck) license. I broke the speed limit and pulled a couple other no-nos before I crushed it with flying colours (on the third try)!
Class 6 (motorcycle) took two tries and included some heated dialogue with the testing guy!
The Class 1 test (semi-trailer) was definitely not a thing of beauty! Everything just went way sideways! I forgot to take the drivetrain out of deep reduction, messed up on backing up the 40-foot trailer, got blamed for not checking the fifth wheel well enough, but I hammered it perfectly (on the third try)!
I take my driving seriously, and the biggest thing I learned from each unsuccessful audition was that the only way things could move forward is if I changed and did them differently-the right way!
Spiritually speaking, it's the same picture. When we find our steady stride has debilitated to a spiritless shuffle or languid limp, we need to find out what went wrong, what needs changing, and then make those adjustments!
If spiritual washout is an accurate description of our growth journey, we have to look into God's Word and find the reasons for that, then identify and implement the changes required to take things from stumbling to standing!
