Fill'er Up?

"Fill'er up?" I can distinctly recall that question being asked as Mamaw Whetsel rolled down the window on her 1963 Ford Falcon and CD Thomason darted up to see how much Fire Chief gasoline she wanted on this visit. On top of that CD would clean your windshield, check your oil, air up your tires, and report back his findings. This memory took place in the era of full-service gas stations. Definitely a memory from the past, full-service gas stations featured attendants who pumped your gas while providing a quick check up on your vehicle's condition. The nice thing about a full-service station was that the service was customary and basically free. A full tank of gas pumped by an attendant with a spot-free windshield, now who wouldn't go for that? Of course, those times have gone by the wayside as self-service fueling became the norm and multi-pump stations the likes of Buccee's have made it virtually impossible to offer any kind of customer service that would resemble those days of old. Yet, where gas stations aren't able to offer a full-service experience today, when our life’s tanks are low, we do have a free of charge offer to have our lives filled with the mercy and grace that God offers.

In society today, people are searching for something that will fill their tank. Wealth, material possessions, "likes" or reposts on social media, or the number of followers each seem to be drivers in the world today. When the material world doesn't provide us with a full tank then the next place to look is creating a new reality. Divorce rates inch higher and higher, drug and alcohol addictions are rampant, and the mental health crisis for children and adults is ever alarming. It appears the more we attempt to "Fill'er up" with the world, the emptier our tanks seem to be. How can that be? The answer is not to be found in the world, the Apostle Paul said it best in II Corinthians 12:9-10 "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  Paul had realized the truth about living for Christ,  the truth that when I am weak and empty, the world won't be able to help me, but the energizing strength of Christ would give Paul all he needed to move forward and succeed. "Fill'er up!"

Today you may feel like you are running on fumes. God may feel distant or even non-existent, yet He is real and God wants to service your head, heart, body, and soul. You may have strayed from God's love or you may have never given your heart and soul to God the Father, but you can rest assured that God is real, God is love, and God wants to fill your life's tank with His free gift of salvation. In I John 4:4 we are reminded that "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." With God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26), Christ gave His life for the sin of this world and now because Jesus willingly died for us, we have His offer to be full and never run dry!

If you feel like you are running on fumes or your tank is empty and you are stuck on the side of life's highway seeking roadside service, Jesus is asking you today, "Fill'er Up?"  

                                   

 "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

Coach Carter