Spiritual Check Engine Light

Riding to work this morning I noticed my Check Engine light was on. This is not the first time I noticed it. It has been on for about a year! Why don't I do anything about it you ask. Because it will cost too much. I know exactly why it is on, the mechanic told me. I have a seal that is old and leaks oil on the underside of my car. The oil has gotten in a sensor and set it off on my dashboard. How much would it cost me to get it fixed...over $500! My car is a 1998 Ford Explorer with about 168,000 miles on it. I just don't want to put that much money into getting it fixed. My car still runs but it leaves a mess in my driveway at home or wherever I park it for an extended period of time.

I know what you are thinking. You are wondering why I am telling you this. I am telling you this because I learned a spiritual lesson from this. My lesson is this: As a Believer in Christ I have a check engine light in me. My check engine light is the Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches this when he tells his disciples that he will leaving them but he will be sending the Holy Spirit to be with them:

John 16: 8 - And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment

Many times I know the Holy Spirit is convicting me of sin in my life but instead of dealing with it I weigh the costs and the costs of dealing with it, in my opinion, are just too high. Instead of dealing with it, instead of spending what I need to in order to make it right I just let my sin issue make a mess wherever I go just like my car leaves a mess in my driveway. What I fail to realize is that the cost of dealing with my sin issues might seem high now but if I neglect to deal with them and let them go unchecked the cost associated with dealing with them later will be much higher. If I am not careful with my car and end up letting all of the oil leak out my engine will stop working and I will have to spend thousands of dollars on a new car.

We need to stop ignoring the spiritual check engine light and deal with the issues he is point out in our lives. The cost of not doing so will be much higher than we can ever imagine.