Giving our souls a tune-up

I’m smiling as I remember my dad’s best efforts to teach me how to give my ’67 Chevy a tune-up. 

That Chevy was the first car I ever owned, and my dad wanted me to learn a few things. I can honestly say that almost nothing I learned is helpful to car maintenance now. No one I know owns a timing light or changes their own spark plugs and filters. In fact, I don’t even know where the spark plugs are in my car today! Now, I drop my car off at the dealer when the “Maintenance Needed” light comes on. 

I’m smiling because there are more important lessons I learned from my dad’s advice. Dad helped me understand maintenance was important if I wanted to keep my car in good shape. In a lot of ways, my dad helped me write this blog post today. 

We understand our cars need maintenance. We spend the time and pay the cost because we don’t want to get stranded somewhere. We can apply that same principle to our souls as well. 

If your life is sluggish and not responding to God’s will, you might need a spiritual tune-up today. 

WHEN MAINTENANCE IS NEEDED 

It would be nice if something in our lives would flash with the words “Maintenance Needed” like our cars do today. We are a lot more like a ’67 Chevy. We have to notice the sluggishness, the slowness to start, and the “wrong noises” that indicate the need for a tune-up. My dad could just listen to engine noises and know there was a problem, and he usually knew how to fix it. 

It would be nice if there could be a “Maintenance Needed” light that would flash in our spiritual lives, but there are indicators:

• Has your witness grown sluggish? 

• Are you a little more difficult to “start” when the Spirit prompts you? 

• Is your prayer life making some strange noises . . . maybe a little too full of self-absorbed rattles and clunks instead of purring along? 

It’s better to fix the problems we notice than break down somewhere. 

God created our souls to run like a perfectly tuned engine: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We are God’s possession and he wants to keep us running well. But, he also waits for us to respond to the warnings and bring our cars to the shop! 

THE DEALER HAS THE BEST SERVICE DEPARTMENT 

A lot of places can do routine maintenance. It’s fairly easy to find someone who can change wiper blades, replace an air filter, or rotate the tires. But, if something inside the engine is not working, we know the dealership has the most specialized care. 

We take our souls for weekly maintenance to church or Bible study each week. Don’t you notice how much easier it is to treat people with kindness and put others first after spending time in worship? We are cleaned up and running more smoothly after a helpful sermon and time of worship.  

Routine maintenance is essential to almost everything in life. Our souls were meant to run on “daily bread,” our time with God each day. If you are reading this blog post, you are probably someone who understands that we need to keep our souls maintained by the daily disciplines of Bible study and prayers. The daily maintenance means we can keep our lives running more smoothly, and Sundays are a great boost to our daily routines. But, there are times when things in life require more help than our routines provide.  

My car has a need for significant maintenance at certain mileage markers. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and rarely “good news.” But, I pay the price because it almost guarantees I will avoid the breakdowns. When the dealer tells me I need to do significant maintenance, I do it. 

Our Dealer knows what is needed in our lives. He manufactured us and knows what is necessary to keep us running. It is good to know we need regular maintenance and care for our souls that way. But, when was the last time you submitted your soul for the more complete work, the work that only the dealer can accomplish? 

That kind of maintenance will come at a cost. It will cost you more time and effort and will be more of a sacrifice than just a Sunday morning service or daily devotions. When is the last time you left your regular routine to spend a significant time away with the Lord?  

If things aren’t running smoothly in your life, it could be time to take more time and submit your life to the One who created it.  

Jesus was preaching, healing, and creating a great stir in the synagogues. The Pharisees had begun to take notice of him and Luke wrote that “they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus” (Luke 6:11). Jesus, our example, knew he needed God’s divine wisdom and help. Luke writes, “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God” (v. 12).  

Even as I type those words I feel a sense of conviction. When last did I retreat from the world and my daily routines to spend an extended amount of time with God? 

Is it time for the “extended maintenance?” 

The dealer/manufacturer will need us for more time in order to do more work, and it will require a greater cost. But, have you ever noticed how much better your car runs after those times of maintenance? Our souls will experience greater benefits as well. 

ONE CAR WILL LAST A LIFETIME 

I’m not sure how many cars I will drive in my lifetime. I was in my forties when I bought my first new car. I kept it a decade, did all the suggested maintenance, and it never did break down. I’m now driving my second version of that car! My ’67 Chevy will always be dear to my heart because it was my first car and I worked hard to be able to buy it. But, I’m glad I can drive a better car these days, and I am careful to take good care of it.  

We only have one soul because that is all we will ever need. The first choice we ever made was to allow Jesus to buy our souls back for God, from the world. But, for the rest of our lives, we will choose to maintain what Jesus bought and has promised to continue to make new. 

We have been given one life, but it is all we need if it is eternal. I’m so glad I exchanged my old ’67 Chevy for something better. I’m glad I exchanged my old life for something better as well. My soul is eternal, and I want it to run as well as possible on earth and in heaven. I’m glad for the warning lights that remind me when maintenance is needed. It’s good to know life will run more smoothly with his care. 

The Apostle Paul wrote, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). One day these cars of ours will roll through the pearly gates and we will realize they are “maintenance free.” 

Until then, we need help from our mechanic. He is waiting to care for our souls. Do you need to do some routine maintenance or schedule an extended visit? He is always at work and always able to get you back on the road.  

But, we also have a lot to look forward to. One day when our journey is complete, it will feel great to pull into the garage, see my dad and my Dad, and know I am safely and forever, home!

Our souls need a good trim too

Our yards have needed some extra work lately. That’s especially true for those of us in Texas. We don’t usually get snow, but this past winter was record-setting. For most of us, there are some plants that just gave up! Most of them needed to be really pruned so that the roots would be able to do their job.

After the tough season we have come through, our plants can teach an important spiritual lesson. Sometimes it’s best to submit our souls to that same process of pruning we apply to our plants. 

IF IT’S NOT GREEN, IT’S NOT GROWING 

Several of our plants looked bad after the freeze, but I waited for spring to arrive before choosing to remove them. I had hope for all of them, until it was obvious they didn’t make it. I snapped off a branch and realized it was brown all the way through. It easily broke in my hand because it was attached to dead roots. 

Those of us who live in Texas have learned that once April rolls around, if it isn’t green, it’s not growing. And so it goes with our spiritual lives. 

Sometimes we attach our hopes, even our trust, to something other than the true vine. This past year, we learned that those things don’t survive. 

What was growing in your life that didn’t make it through to the spring season? 

What things did you place your hope and trust in that didn’t prosper? 

Is it time to do some pruning?

Because if something isn’t green, or evergreen, it’s not growing. 

John 13–20 are some of the most poignant chapters in Scripture. Jesus’ beloved disciple records the lessons Jesus spoke during his last days on earth. In chapter 15, Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away” (vv. 1–2a). 

This past year, I think our heavenly Father pulled his pruning shears out in order to do a lot of work. Everyone’s life was altered in some way during 2020 and the winter that followed. Truthfully, no one is really certain the changes are over. But, there is a lot of hope. God will always be at work in the world, even on the hard days. 

THE ROOTS MATTER MOST 

I don’t think spring has ever felt like such a blessing! It was such a joy to worship God surrounded by people again. Easter Sunday felt like a time of rebirth and renewal. Joy always returns in the morning. 

It has been amazing to watch a rebirth in some of our plants too. I was just about to pull out a plant when I realized it was sprouting at the base. All it needed was the dead stuff cut off. Now it seems like that plant looks different every morning! 

That plant is what prompted this blog post. It has served as a parable to me this spring. The rest of John 15:2 says that “every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Is that what God was doing in our lives last year? 

As I look back on 2020 and the winter of 2021, I realize I had put a lot of trust in things other than God. We all worried about politics, people, and possessions. There were a LOT of days it was tough to find anything that looked like it was going well. 

We had a year of quiet, and it was a great year to spend focused on him. Now, as spring returns, how will your life look different? 

Maybe it feels like you have been cut down to the roots. But under God’s care, your life could be changing daily, growing and becoming something changed and stronger than it was before. 

It’s the root of our lives that matters most. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

Everything we did last year that was Spirit-led will produce fruit. Everything that was born from a different root will not be worth keeping. A lot of artificial fruit looks really good, but, in the end, fake fruit doesn’t feed anyone. That’s a good metaphor for the fruit we produce in our lives. 

Real fruit is born from the real root, and Jesus said, “That’s me.” 

WATCH THE THINGS THAT COME TO LIFE 

Spring is a season of rebirth. How like God to make sure Passover, and then Easter, would be celebrated in the spring. Jesus died and rose again so that our souls could live eternally. The disciples thought Jesus had been “cut down,” but he was about to change the world. 

From the root of Christ’s work on earth, look at the branches! That growth is available in each of our lives as well. 

I’m still keeping my eye on a few plants. If they don’t grow, I’ll pull them. But, I have a new favorite plant now. It’s the plant that reminded me of an important spiritual lesson. We can come through hard times, better and stronger, if we just let our perfect vinedresser prune away the stuff in our life that is dead or dying. 

If the roots are good and the plant comes back to life, keep it. If there are things you have done during this past season that have strengthened your soul, keep those things and submit the rest, the lesser things, to the perfect vinedresser. 

SOMETIMES GOD USES SHEARS, OTHER TIMES IT’S THE LOPPER 

One last thought: the longer we let the bad stuff grow, the more difficult it is to cut. 

If God has come to you with his pruning shears in hand, be glad. He is just making sure your life can produce more fruit. But, when he has to reach for the loppers, pay attention. Sometimes we allow things to grow that never should have taken root in our lives. If God had to use the loppers, pay attention. Watch for the signs those things are starting to grow and weed them out early! 

I probably won’t replant the same plants that died this winter. They looked good, but they just weren’t strong enough for the tough times. The same is true in our lives spiritually. If God lopped it out of our lives, he didn’t want it there. On the other hand, nurture all that the Lord is pruning. 

Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:7–8). 

ENJOY THE YARD WORK 

I’m going to spend this month writing about replenishing our souls. After a tough winter, our yards needed a little help and so do our souls. 

I know I have had a good time this year cutting some things back. God is always at work in our lives, using everyday lessons for his greater good.  

He really is the perfect vinedresser.