Whose Faith is Real?

I have a long repertoire of broken down car stories, some of which have led me to special neighbors. I thought I would share a few with you in this Reflections.

One cold, dark night several years ago, as I was driving home on Highway 51, my car broke down. Kristina was out and I was still two miles from home, so I started walking along the shoulder of the freeway with my thumb out, hoping for a ride. Many cars buzzed past me before a small truck pulled off the road in front of me.

I jogged up to the truck and saw three men crammed into the cab. They were wearing baseball caps and construction clothes. They told me in Spanish to jump into the back, which I gladly did. We drove up the highway and I pointed to my exit, where they pulled over so I could hop out.

As they drove away, I pondered why men who were probably immigrants were kind enough to offer me a ride. They seemed to know how it felt to be vulnerable. I asked God to bless these good Samaritans. I also wondered if the believers who had driven past me were either too busy to help me, or too afraid to stop.

This Spring I stayed for a week at my son Phil’s house on a hill overlooking San Rafael, CA. I was scheduled to preach that Sunday in Novato. Phil and his family had left for the early service at their church. As I walked out their front door, I got a call from Gerry Ghirardo, the pastor of the Lighthouse where I was preaching.

Gerry and his wife had been at the hospital most of the night dealing with a medical emergency. He wanted to let me know he would be staying home that morning and would watch the service online. By the time our call ended, I was running late for the service. I hustled out to the driveway carrying my sermon notes binder and Bible and jumped into Phil’s car, which I was using for the week.

I turned the key and the engine started racing. I tried to put the car in reverse to back out of the driveway, but I couldn’t get it out of park. I turned off the engine and then restarted the car. The engine kept racing and would not let me shift out of park. After several attempts, I was frustrated. Gerry was counting on me and I hated to be late.

It would take too long for one of my friends or an Uber to pick me up, so I decided to try to borrow a car from Phil’s neighbors who were believers. I walked across the cul-de-sac and knocked on their door. Nobody answered. I rang their doorbell. Nobody responded.

Phil’s other neighbors are not believers, as far as I know; however, I felt desperate. I walked over to another neighbor’s house and knocked on their door. A lady who looked like she just woke up came to the door. I explained my situation.

“I’m Phil’s dad and I’m staying with his family next door. They are gone and I can’t get their car to work. I’m a pastor and I need to get to Novato because I’m preaching at a church and I’m late. I was wondering if you could give me a ride to Novato or lend me a car?”

She stared at me for a while. She didn’t say it, but I knew what she was thinking. I have never met you before. It takes twenty-five minutes to drive to Novato. You have a lot of gall!

She finally said, “My husband is out of town. My son is asleep, and I don’t want to leave him. You can use our car. I’ll get the keys.”

She turned around and went back into the house. She returned and handed me a remote key. “This is for our Audi out front. Do you know how to drive it?”

“Yes, this is great. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.” I replied.

I turned to walk out to the front curb, carrying my sermon gear and the key while thanking the Lord out loud. I stood in front of the car and touched the icon on the key to open the door. I heard a faint click and reached down to open the door. It didn’t open. I pushed the unlock button again and again. I could hear it clicking, but the door wouldn’t open no matter how hard I pulled on the handle.

I walked back to their front door and knocked again. The door opened and the lady was standing in front of me. “I can’t get the car door to open,” I told her.

“That doesn’t make sense,” she said as she took the key out of my hand.

I followed her out to the curb. She touched the key button and we could hear it click. “There you go” she said.

“Thanks so much” I replied, as I reached down to open the door. It didn’t budge.

“That’s our BMW. The Audi is across the street,” she said.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have realized that. Thank you very much.”

I took the key from her hand and walked over to the Audi. The door was unlocked. Very unlocked. She watched me start up the car and drive away, wondering if she gave her car to a complete doofus.

I asked the Lord to bless her and her family. And I filled their tank with gas after the service. I hope you are never late to church, especially if you are the preacher; however, if you do need to get somewhere in a hurry, those Audi’s are a nice ride.

The church service actually went well that morning. One key to effective preaching is to declare the gospel boldly, no matter how stupid or frustrated you feel. People are saved by the grace and power of God, not by our perfect lives.

My most recent car story occurred a few weeks ago. I was driving up 24th Street in Phoenix. I was heading home for dinner just before dark on a hot day when, suddenly, my rear tire started wobbling like it was going flat. There was no good place to pull over, so I decided to keep driving towards Glendale Avenue. I was hoping to reach my daughter Kelly’s house a mile away.

By the time I turned on Glendale, the tire was thumping loudly. I pulled over in front of a house and got out to check the problem. The tire was smashed down to the rim and hopelessly shredded. I felt stupid for driving so far that I wrecked the tire.

I called Kelly, hoping she could pick me up. She answered, but she wasn’t home. She told me she would contact our roadside insurance and call me right back. A few minutes later Kelly called and said the car service would arrive in around thirty minutes. They would tow the car if they couldn’t change out the tire. She exhorted me to be patient before hanging up.

My patience would be tested. I was frustrated that somehow my new tire had gone flat and then I had ruined it by continuing to drive on it. Fifty minutes later, I was still standing beside my car in 105º heat waiting for the roadside service guy to show up.

Then a car pulled alongside me with a driver and a young boy wearing yarmulkes. The driver rolled his window down and offered me a bottle of cold water. He said he had seen me standing there for the last hour and knew I could use a drink. I accepted the water and said, “Thank you so much, God bless you both.”

Ten minutes later, a man who had been walking his dog past me earlier returned in a truck and offered me another cold drink. I wasn’t thirsty, but I accepted the bottle with thanks and blessed him. Jesus said, If someone even offers one of my disciples a drink of cold water, he shall not lose his reward. I wanted these gracious men to receive the reward the Lord has for them.

In one hour on a hot evening, two neighbors went out of their way to bring me drinks. I realized this neighborhood at the foot of Piestewa Peak in Phoenix was full of good Samaritans.

On another hot day many years ago, the prophet Elijah was very frustrated (I Kings 19). The Lord told him He had 7,000 servants in Israel who had not bowed their knees to Baal. Those 7,000 were unknown to Elijah, but God, who sees our hearts, saw their faith. The Lord knew these brave men had not been intimidated by the powerful leaders in their corrupt culture. They had not given in to the fear of man. They lived by the fear of the Lord and trusted in His word.

There are many people among us who are not afraid to love their neighbors. I know this because they are willing to help strangers like me. They are willing to take risks and make themselves vulnerable. They understand that the way we treat our fellow man defines who we are, more than what we say we believe.

Who is really closer to God: the person who has a good grasp of theology, but won’t take risks to help others, or the person who is willing to lay down their life to help others? Whose faith is real?

In I John 4, the apostle John wrote, If we don’t love our brother who we can see, how can we love God who we can’t see?