SomeTHING or SomeONE?
Home Improvement was a highly popular TV sitcom which ran from September 1991 to May 1999. The show starred Tim Allen as inept and over-confident Tim Taylor, host of ‘Tool Time,’ a dubiously helpful do-it-yourself TV show. ‘Tool Time’ co-host Al Borland constantly tried to redirect Tim’s on-air blunders and popularized the phrase, “I don’t think so Tim.”
Tim Taylor always believed he could ‘do it himself,’ no need to call in a costly professional. Problem was, when Tim’s attempts failed, as they always did, the end cost of undoing his damage and redoing the job right were always far, far, more costly!
This past Sunday Elder Don Longworth focussed our attention on this interesting truth of human nature: When we are faced with a problem we believe we can solve we go looking for something, perhaps a tool or a part, but when we encounter a difficulty we know we cannot fix we seek out someone.
We do this all the time not even noticing the equation. When our forced air furnace filter began to get dirty a few months back I tracked down a new one, but when the solar-geothermal controller began flashing a warning light last summer we sought out a professional. When the ‘add oil’ light popped up in our car, we looked for some 5W-30, but when the engine began to rattle and the exhaust sputtered we booked a mechanic!
Think I can = look for SomeTHING
Know I can’t = look for SomeONE
A problem emerges however when, like Tim, we think we can, but we actually can’t – when we look to ourselves but should instead look to another.
And when it comes to matters spiritual and eternal the stakes are infinitely higher!
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). If we want to get past the problem of sin, if we want to come to the Father… if we want life eternal… we need to call on the One and only One Who can deal with the sin problem which separates us. Do-it-yourself ‘righteousness’ doesn’t cut it, ‘self-improvement’ is useless. We need ‘self’-replacement. We need SomeOne to help us, and that SomeOne is Christ.
More tomorrow…
To hear Elder Don’s complete message, go to the Lincoln Baptist Church website and look under ‘Media’ for the Sept. 8 message.
thebrokenrunner 
Amen. May we always call on the One who is able to do much more than we can ask or think.
Blessings,
Homer Les
http://www.uncompromisingfaith.ca
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