I’ve come to believe that our Lord is the God of the busted tire. Looking back over my automotive life it seems that God has continuously taken His glory from my use of the internal combustion engine to meet new people.
In college driving across the country, from the buckle of the Bible belt to the right hip pocket of the East coast, I had a tire explode. Before I knew it, I was sharing Life with a gas station attendant in the middle of the Indiana cornfields.
In Northeastern Africa, after someone had shattered a side window to rob us I found myself sitting in the middle of the “glass market” having a replacement made. Over small cups of tea I shared the providence of Jesus with a man the Lord brought across my diverted path.
A few weeks ago, as Elise and I were on our way to pick up our older two from school I felt the car drooping in the back. Stepping down from our formidable Speed the Light Toyota Fortuner I discovered that our tire had lost its jovial rotund appearance.
As I began to replace the tire several of our neighbors came to help. I had a beautiful mixture of emotions: frustration at my blackening hands replacing a new tire with another new tire, joy that our community is truly grafting us into their everyday lives, and surprise. Surprise because one of the men who came to help was new to me. As we shared time in the dirt we got to know each other.
A few days later he came over to our house with his little brother and they invited us to their home for a large celebration that commemorates when God called on Abraham to sacrifice His son.
The day of the celebration came and we went to his home, just a few steps down from ours, but worlds apart. We went to the back door where the women were busy pounding the spices into the onions and mustard. The men were busy butchering the slaughtered sheep. Elise and I began helping prepare the meal. I was even given the first bite, a large chunk of thick sheep liver covered in the onion-mustard concoction.
Over the “second breakfast” after noon, as the house was filled with eight young men and numerous young ladies we began to talk about the reason God demanded Abraham offer up his son as a sacrifice. What an awesome privilege to share the story from the Bible where God blessed Abraham with a son of promise. How God called Abraham to lay down all his hope and future at the altar. How our faithful and loving God placed a substitute in Isaac’s place.
And how that same God, our Sovereign God who is one, divinely three in one, stepped into the brokenness of humanity and became the perfect sacrifice and He has made eternally perfect those who are being made holy who through His sacrifice (Heb. 10.12-14). And I got to share this, all of this because of a busted tire. Truly, He is the God of the busted tire.
May he bust your tire today too.