Who's Driving?

Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him. - Colossians 2:6 (NIV)

There is a slogan missionary pilots cling to when flying dangerous missions, “God is my co-pilot.” Upon landing safely after a near disastrous encounter with a tropical storm, one pilot gave up the slogan for a new one, “I am God’s co-pilot.” The Christian life is only survivable and only enjoyable when we remain in the passenger seat and let God drive. Faith becomes stagnant, joy non-existent and hope is crushed when we take the steering wheel and say to God, “Leave the driving to us.” That is not true Christianity. Real Christians are Christ-followers, we let Him decide where to drive even if it’s not the way we’d choose to go.

This was part of the crisis in the New Testament church in Colossae (located in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey). The Apostle Paul wrote to encourage them to continue living (literally “walking around in”) Christ. It seems some of them were relegating Jesus to the passenger seat. This was a new development. When they began their Christian adventure they eagerly listened to Jesus’ commands and applied them to every area of life. But somewhere in their journey, they began listening to those who said, “Jesus doesn’t know where He’s going.” They began to realize Jesus’ route was a bumpier ride and they decided to take the wheel.

The decision to let Jesus drive and submit to His authority as Lord is not just a one time commitment or prayer. The Christian journey is a daily surrender, a daily dying to our self, a daily decision to let Jesus lead us, as Paul said, “I die every day…” (1Corinthians 15:31). Daily we must decide to trust Jesus, to give Him the reigns, to listen to His word, to love Him, to obey, to let Him drive.

When each of us first came to Christ, we came in bad condition. We’d been doing the driving in our lives and so there were dings and dents of varying degree on the outside and severe engine damage under the hood. To put it plainly, our hearts were wicked because we rejected God’s rule (Jeremiah 17.9). When we received Christ He made us new and gave us hearts capable of knowing Him, submitting to Him and loving others. In a world that cares nothing for these things, the Christian’s journey is difficult. But the work Christ is doing in us and the destination to which He is leading us makes it worthwhile. Jesus knows what He is doing and where He is going, let Him drive.