The Call

         As the dusk turns into dark, the soul hungers for a voice. In an eternal moment the call reaches out in hope that a light will shine. Who will see?
         I dial my spiritual phone to talk with God. I have been in a car wreck in which my car is totaled. I cry out to God for some answer to the madness. Can anything be redeemed out of a life that feels like it is in total disarray? As I was turning I was met by a young man who was coming down the road in the opposite direction. I had failed to yield and was in the wrong. How many times have I refused to yield in order that I could hear God's voice? What can I do to get my life back on track?

         The night begins to turn to day. God calls me up in the coming days. I hear God speak to me through His Word.
          "I have come that you might have abundant life". John 10:10
My attentions are drawn to a car that sits lifeless in my son's driveway. It has all but been declared dead. The wheels on the car are flat, the engine will not run and the driver's side door will not open easily.

         "You have got to be kidding God. You want me to invest my life in this mess of a car."
         "You have been bought at a price. Jesus came to die for you." I Peter 1:18
I call my buddy Bill, who happens to be very mechanical by nature. What are the odds that he will want to take on the job of salvaging something out of this mess?

"Sure let's take a look."
We head out and look at what appears through my eyes to have a seed of potential.

"Let's get to work!"

          God looks at our own lives through that same lens. Before the car has been worked on, I offer my son five hundred dollars for the car. He lets me know that it is just a piece of junk and he will feel bad for me if something goes wrong. He offers to pay for the starter which he knows is no good. Over time Bill and I invest in a new alternator, battery, starter and tires. The car with nearly three hundred thousand miles on it springs back to life. My son will not pay a cent to get the car back up and running. I very gratefully hand him the money I promised. He shakes his head.

"Are you sure you know what you are doing?"

         My experience of talking with God on a spiritual telephone is a constant theme lately. The silence is always deafening. The only thing I know for sure is that a word is forthcoming and when I respond I discover more about who I am.
It says somewhere in the Bible that all things work for good. I enter that kind of zone as I count down the days of blessing that I spend with I car once doomed. I am driving the car around about Christmas time when I receive a call.

"Mr. Karlson we wonder if you would have an interest in being a pastor at our small church?

It has been a long time since I have been a pastor.

"God what do you want me to do?"
Silence ensues as usual and the familiar refrain I have heard since childhood days:

"Follow me".Matthew 4:19

         As of this writing I am still waiting to see the fruits of my labor. I have been active in my church and have all the educational credentials to assume responsibility. The church continues to show interest. They will be talking to my references in the upcoming week. We both agree on one thing. We want God's will to be done.
And I have decided that if God can take a broken down car and make it work. Who is to say that God cannot take a soul that has known brokenness and despair and bring it back to life?
To God be the Glory.

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