The Ferrari Incident
Originally scheduled for
January 11
There are any number of ways
to get yourself fired from even the simplest of jobs. Somewhere in Southern
California there is a former valet parking attendant who experienced a most
interesting method.
He was working at a very exclusive
restaurant, parking cars for their elite customers. One such customer drove up
in a Ferrari. Not just any Ferrari; a custom built automobile with a unique
gearbox and capable of speeds in excess of two hundred miles per hour. The
owner quite naturally asked if the young man could handle such a car. With
more confidence than sense he told him that it would be no problem. Touching
the gas, the attendant flew up the first ramp in the parking structure – and
directly into a wall. The management yanked him out of the wreckage and fired
him on the spot.
We might ask a question: did the
Ferrari turn this young man into a poor driver, or did the Ferrari simply reveal
his incompetence? Of course, we know the answer to that question.
The same thing applies to
Communion. It reveals our unworthiness; it does not cause it. If we
claim a relationship with Christ, then his presence will show us for the
sinners we are. If we do nothing about this, Paul tells us that weakness,
sickness and even death result.
What shall we do, then, to come
before the Lord in a worthy manner? Repent. Repent before you walk into the
building; repent before you take Communion. Then follow through on your
repentance. Approach the Lord with clean hands and clean heart.
Beware: God is not mocked. A
mumbled prayer of pseudo-repentance does not deceive him. He knows your
heart. To take his Communion unworthily is no light matter to him – and will
soon be no light matter to you.
