If a picture is worth a thousand words, picture this: A new high performance car hitched to a trailer, on which sits the older version of the new car. Do you think that new car will be able to realize or maximize the performance or efficiency of its design while towing the old car behind it?
I visited my brother recently and he has a fishing boat that he tows behind his SUV. When driving without the trailer and boat, the SUV is a decent performer and has no trouble keeping up with traffic and fitting into normal parking spaces. However, as soon as the boat is in tow, the focus of the driver must change. Not only is the performance of the SUV affected, the SUV can only safely go where the trailer will fit. So, merging, turning, stopping, and maneuverability are all determined by what is behind the SUV.
I heard a message not long after that… about living our lives while being overly concerned about our past. This image of the trailer is what God gave me as an illustration of this principle. God tells us if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, and the old (creation) has passed away. And yet too often we still try to keep both lives functional and productive.
When we are constantly thinking about, and relating to our past, we are like that SUV towing that boat on a trailer. We have to slow down and most of our decisions are going to be based on the past (that which is behind us) and how it fits into our current situation. We MUST learn to leave the boat in the water, unhitch the trailer, and drive away without them, so we can be free to experience all the performance, efficiency, and liberty that God intended for our new man.
Using the image of the new car towing the old car, we can see how pointless it is to have a newer better performing vehicle and not experience it because we can’t let go of the old version. In fact, the new car towing the old car won’t perform as well as the old car did! Living a double life, not being single minded, focused on the things of God, can often leave us feeling weighed down, unsatisfied, and less effective than before we came to Christ.
God has promised us better. In order to make room for better, we have to get rid of the old, the past, and the worse. Let it go. The blood does not just cover; it removes our old man, our sins. Let it go. Unhitch the trailer and leave your past behind you. Drive, press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling. Onward and upward, move further from sin, your old man, and your old ways, and closer to God, your new man and His ways.
We all have something sitting on a trailer waiting to be towed somewhere, longing to be put back into use. God gave you a new high performance life…LIVE IT! Stop towing and start growing!
Everyday God... 