Several years ago I purchased a riding lawn mower.  It is a simple and basic unit without any luxuries, but it has served me well for the most part.

It does not have an electric starter, but that is fine and I do not mind pulling the rope to get it going.

However, it developed a problem that caused the rope pulling to become unpleasant because of severe kickback. That is, when the rope is pulled to start the engine, instead of starting the engine there is a sudden and forceful pull back of the rope toward the engine–an occurrence that is both aggravating and potentially dangerous. (It reminds me of an old M. Farmall tractor of my granddaddy’s that had a strong kickback when I had to start it with the hand crank on the front of the engine—indeed, an unpleasant experience!)

When I had done all I could do for my lawn mower—which was very limited—I decided I had to either get it fixed or buy a new one.  So, with some consideration and a little bit of hesitation (Although I really wanted the big green new mower I had been looking at, I knew that probably was not be the best use of our resources right now and there seemed to be no reasonable way to bring my wants and needs into alignment!), I chose to get it repaired.

After putting it in the shop to be checked out, I learned that something had gone bad inside the engine that would not allow pressure to be released during the starting process, which in turn produced the unpleasant and unwanted kickback.

The repairs were made and I have been delighted with my decision; so far, I have not been plagued by the rope being jerked out of my hand when I pull it!

That lawn mower engine looked pretty good from the outside, but on the inside something was wrong.  I needed the skills of someone with the knowledge and tools to do what was necessary to make my mower engine function correctly.  And thankfully, that happened.

Sometimes we have things going on within our inner selves that cause us to be rebellious, contrary, and prone to actions that are displeasing to God and hurtful to people.

That inner problem is called sin. We often try to cover it up with a fake smile, attempt to put on the false appearance that all is well, and do all that we know to do for self improvement, yet no lasting result is achieved.

That seems to paint a rather hopeless picture, but there is good news and hope in the loving transformation that God desires to achieve in our lives.  He has the ability and willingness to do what needs to be done deep within our hearts that we can never achieve on our own no matter how intense and sincere our efforts might be.

If you will trust Christ to take control of your life, He will not merely do a temporary patch job, but He will make you new spiritually.

If you recognize that you need some internal repairs done in your life that are too big for you to handle, consider allowing these words of promise found in II Corinthians 5 to become reality in your life:  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ” (verse 17, New International Version).