Wretched Saints - A 5 Day Journey To TruthSample

FAULTY ENGINE LIGHTS: You Haven’t Lost God’s Love

A few years ago, I was in the market for a used car. Like any car shopper, I had my list of non-negotiables. And, like any middle-aged man, one of my non-negotiables was fun.

I scoured the country with my list in hand and found the perfect car. The only problem was that it was in New York and I lived in Michigan. 

After a bit of negotiation on price and a few video tours around the car, I bought it and had my new baby shipped to my office. John, my “car guy” friend, met the delivery to make sure everything was kosher, and he called me when his inspection was complete.

“The check engine light is on.”

“What do you mean, it’s on? It was fine a couple days ago when the guy gave me the video tour.”

“Do you want me to check the codes?”

“Of course.”

After a few minutes, John called me back with good news. The code was from a faulty sensor and it was an easy fix. We threw a new sensor in there and the warning light went away.

Whew.

That sensor sent fear running through me. Had I made a stupid decision to buy the car sight unseen? Had I been duped? Was this a lemon

No, it was just a faulty sensor. 

A few weeks later, the light came back on. Again, the anxiety shot through me. We checked the code again. Same thing. A bad sensor.

Whew again!

The thing was, the car drove fine. More than fine, really: This truly was the most fun car I have ever owned. I grinned from ear to ear every single minute I drove it.

That was, until I glanced down at the check engine light that continued to turn on and off. There was never anything wrong. Except the sensors. It was one faulty sensor after another. 

I started changing my behavior based on what I knew to be false information. I began to baby the car. I drove it with less passion. Maybe the sensors were actually telling me the truth, despite the lack of any evidence to support that conclusion.

The sight of the warning light was “driving” me to distraction. So, I sold the best car I’d ever had.

Now I drive a decidedly less fun, more practical car.

It’s fine, I guess. But I don’t smile when I drive it.

I’ve learned that I’m not the only one duped into making a rash decision by a false sensor. Turns out, it happens all the time.

It even happens in our walk with God. We start believing false sensors and begin to think that God’s love for us is somehow leaking out.

What if I told you that God’s love is permanently full in the Christian’s life and is hermetically sealed, a closed system that is not capable of ever being opened or of leaking?

There can’t be a leak of God’s love because there is nothing in the universe that can cause a leak. Not you, not Satan, nothing. The problem isn’t that God’s acceptance of you leaks away; it’s that you’ve got a faulty sensor.

The engine is fine. Nothing is wrong. Nothing is leaking. But something is telling you that there’s a problem. And it’s such a scary, compelling warning light that you’ve done what anyone else in your situation would’ve done: You’ve believed it. 

Faulty sensors can make you do really dumb things and can leave you absolutely crippled. 

In this reading plan, you’ll learn how to spot faulty sensors, remove them, and leave your “engine” free to roar down the open highway of the Christian life living the way it was meant to be lived. You’ve believed a lie—several, probably. But, even if you’ve got sin that needs to be cleaned up (which I’m sure you do, if you’re like me) you can know that you haven’t lost God’s love and you don’t need to earn it back. 

You never lost it. 

You can’t lose it. 

You don’t leak.