Mr. G

"They know about God, but they don't honor Him or even thank Him" (Romans 1:21, Contemporary English Version).

A certain village was filled with car-crazed citizens. They drove cars everywhere. Every day. They did everything by car. They were nuts about their cars. And boy, were they cranky when their cars wouldn't crank!

The village had a single mechanic. He alone knew how to maintain, diagnose, and fix cars. He was a genius at work, turning out repaired automobiles like factories turn out shoe laces and bubble gum.

Though the lone mechanic had a monopoly on this service industry, his prices were significantly lower than they should have been. He could have charged ten times as much, but he barely charged at all for his services.

Through the years other mechanics had tried to compete, but none could compare with Mr. Greatwrench. Failed mechanics moved away and set up shop elsewhere. They found normal villages where people expected high prices, long delays, shoddy work, and questionable fees.

Mr. G enjoyed serving the good people of Motorville...until lately. Lately, he noticed a change in the attitudes of his customers. Smiles were replaced by grimaces. Appreciation was absent. No matter how quickly Mr. G repaired and replaced a broken this or a faulty that, the vehicle owners grew more and more impatient.

They checked their watches and paced. They let out deep sighs of exasperation. Mr. G overheard phone conversations that regularly sounded like this: "I don't know! I thought he would be finished by now. I can't believe it's taking this long!"

Upon overhearing one such conversation, Mr. G put down his ratchet, rolled out from under a car, stood up, wiped grease from his tired, gnarled, and constantly bleeding hands, dropped the grease rag on a workbench, and walked away.

No one ever saw him again.

There's another Mr. G who lives in your neighborhood. He doesn't work on cars. He works on hearts. God.

God does amazing work. He has even absorbed the cost Himself. His Son, Jesus, paid for everything. God can fix a broken heart when we feel it is beyond repair. God can heal a neglected relationship that appears hopeless to everyone else. God works day and night. No one else can compare.

Shouldn't His patrons be grateful? Are we? Am I?

Happy Thanksgiving,
Perry Crisp