The view from the Passenger Side

Christ our Pilot by Warner Sallman

Since the day I turned 16 years old I have been in the driver’s seat of a car.  For almost 30 years now, when I get into a car, I automatically move to the left hand side.  Being in control of a car comes naturally, instinctively.  I control the speed, the navigation, and most of the time the radio.  Sometimes on long trips, I will share driving duties with my wife.  Usually, I end up asleep and she ends up turning the radio. 

            In April, for the first time in decades, I moved over to the passenger side.  My 15 year old daughter began learning to drive.  Every time we head for the car, I hear her voice energetically say, “Dad, can I drive?”  I know this feeling.  It has stayed with me since I was a teenager. 

            My daughter is becoming a good driver.  We started off slow by driving to the church on Saturday.  We eventually experienced 4-lane driving on Hwy 365.  Finally, in a feat of jubilant celebration, she drove all the way to the Habersham Ninth Grade Academy where she exited the car from the driver’s side.  I knew her pride as she grabbed her bags and walked inside. 

            As my daughter becomes a better driver, I am slowly becoming a better passenger.  I have learned to enjoy looking out the side window.  I have discovered small surprises on my normal routes – little gifts of beauty I miss when I am driving.  I have learned the fear of depending on someone else to arrive safely.  I am slowly realizing the power of this verse, “I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 MSG).

            When I was growing up, my dad gave me a picture by Warner Sallman, a 20^th Century American artist.  Sallman suffered from tuberculosis.  When he was healed, he gave God the glory by painting many of the most beloved images of Jesus in Baptist Churches.  The picture my dad gave me shows a strong, young man struggling to steer the wheel of a ship through a storm.  Jesus stands, his hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him through the waves.  The painting is entitled, Christ Our Pilot.  My life of control behind the steer wheel has only been an illusion.  My time in the passenger seat has reminded me of my True Pilot.  Amen.