The Car Wash

Today I took the car to the car wash – a beautiful spring day almost demands it, doesn’t it? I’m lazy, so I go to the automatic car wash.

But I hate the automatic car wash.

I sat with my car in neutral while the nice young man sprayed some soapy stuff all over the car. It was a power wash, so it was getting all the accumulated gunk off the windows and the wheels. I could hear the shhhhhhhh of water hitting windows, but of course I couldn’t feel it.

Then I felt a jerk and the car began to move forward. Why do I dislike this part so much? Perhaps it is because I like control, but with the car in neutral, foot off the brake, hands off the wheel, I am completely out of control. I have to trust that everything is working correctly. It has always been an odd feeling.

Then the soapy felt strips start their rotating. This particular car wash doesn’t use a drum of fabric that spins around; it uses long strips of felt that go back and forth and eventually over the top of the car while you move forward. Between the soap and the felt strips you can’t see anything. More of that uncomfortable feeling. And all the while you are moving forward in a less than smooth manner. It jerks your car along.

And then there is the protective spray and the hard wind of the drying and then you’re out on the street and within days – hours – your car is dusty and dirty again.

* * *

As I was sitting in the car waiting for the rather short process to finish, I was thinking of my walk with God. I have been spending a lot of time thinking about it because it is not where I want it to be. Sure, I can amaze all of you with my spiritual insights and Bible knowledge. I’d probably win big at the tables in Vegas because I am really good at bluffing. But the truth is, the past several months have been more of a show than the real thing.

As I sat in my car, in neutral, hands off the wheel, foot off the brake, I thought of how God needs me to let go in order to work in my heart. I like to control things. (Big surprise.) Something that Jen Wilkin said in her final video in the 1 Peter series resonates with me: Anxiety is the calling card of where we’re relying on our own self-sufficiency. Instead of letting God maintain control. But how hard it is to let go! I mean, the wheel is right there, just begging for me to hold on to it! And steer it, of course.

As I sat in my car and the felt strips covered my car with suds, I thought of how we are cleansed through the blood of Christ. Jesus died once and for all. My sin is forgiven, my debt is paid. But my heart is still sinful and the world is still fallen and we still need to be washed. What did Jesus say to Peter at the last supper? If you are clean, you only need to wash your feet. In their car-less culture, it was their sandaled feet that got dirty, walking through dusty streets and litter and animal filth. They needed to have Jesus wash their feet. I drive everywhere, and it is my car that symbolizes the dirt that accumulates in my sinful heart.

And then the protective coating is applied, and without that the whole process was pretty pointless. What is that in my walk with God? Probably prayer and Bible study. Without that, everything else is virtually pointless.

And then I am out in the sunshine again. The car is clean. For now. It won’t take long for it to become dusty and dirty.

But I’ll come back and let Jesus wash my feet.