SancTINTification on the Road

I bought a fuel-efficient new car last July at the height of the gas-price run-up. My bumperless, catalytic-converter-less ‘96 minivan had more rattles than a baby with ten aunts, and I wanted a more reliable car that didn’t cost so much to fill up. I love the car, though I miss the extra minivan room on the way home from Lowe’s. What I also ended up missing was tinted windows, which were an option I didn’t take when I bought it. But boy, that deep grey car with grey dash & seats heated up quicker than a K-State alumni party in a Lawrence bar—and every time I’d get in after even a short errand, I’d have to open all the windows and turn on the fan for a minute before shifting into drive.

So back in June I talked to my KP buddy and “car concierge” Jason Moxness (www.carfinderskc.com), and who owns a couple of honest car businesses, and asked if he could get my car windows tinted while I went on vacation (see previous post!). My first tinting choice, Mafia-Mirror, apparently isn’t allowed by law, but Jason said he’d get it done for me at the maximum “Kansas legal” tint, and even that would keep me incredibly cooler in the months ahead.

And wow, was he right! I not only can touch the steering wheel and drive away after letting the car bake for hours in the prairie sun, but the slight reduction in light from the side windows helps keep me focused on the road in front, while still giving me peripheral squint-free visibility in all directions. Cooler yet, it keeps everyone in SUV’s, pick-ups, and parking lots from seeing how much junk I keep on the back seat.

The faith life of a Christian can be like that, too. We can have so much high-intensity stimuli coming in from all sides that we get overwhelmed, start heating up inside, and get progressively less comfortable—and less useful to Christ or his Kingdom.

But if we commit to living a life of Sanctification, or holy, slightly more sacrificial living, we stop getting distracted by trivial or trashy stimuli on the sides, or hurtful memories in the rearview mirror. We embrace the free gift of Jesus’ grace (aka Justification), and then we say Thank You to him with choices that, for all their imperfections, seriously try to make him the Lord of our life. On top of all that, we stay cooler, less squinty, and more focused on the road of life ahead!

If life really is a highway, I want to ride it all life long with the Jesus-grade tint. And just maybe, like my now way sharper little car, I’ll even look better doing it!