Several years ago, I drove a chartered bus to Ft. Worth, TX, with a group of senior adults on board. They were going to a senior adult conference held in downtown Ft. Worth. Even though this was only a part time job for me I was considered lead driver and one that took good care of the bus and its passengers.
This particular trip I had everything in order and insured that these senior adults got to where they were going. I drove from Mississippi to Texas, ran around Ft. Worth to several locations and made several trips from the motel to the convention center. I had been a driver for several years and considered myself to be ahead of the game when it came to have plenty of fuel in the bus. This time I miscalculated and in the middle of town around 9 p.m. I exited the convention center only to go about 100 feet. There I sat in the middle of the road with a bus load of tired senior citizens.
I learned a valuable lesson from this experience. Even though I thought I had everything planned out, I allowed the bus to run out of fuel.
Many times, during our lifetime we think we have our lives in order only to find out we are not where we should be. In our workplace, in our social life, in our church activities, with our family and friends, we seem to be okay on the outside when we are running on fumes and need to be recharged. Many times, this will happen when we isolate ourselves from others and not feed off of their energy.
This is especially true when we quit attending church. So many of us tend to think we can sit at home, go fishing, or attend other functions we deem more important than fellowship with Christians. I have heard many people say that I don’t need the church. I can worship on my own terms by praying and reading the Bible.
This is not untrue but being alone and studying your Bible will give you a self-satisfaction that will not be shared with others. Look at what the apostle Paul said in Romans 15:14; “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”
Not going to church or sharing your faith with others will eventually leave you feeling empty on the inside. We need to do as Jesus taught us through the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. Verse 19 states “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Just as I allowed the bus I was driving to run out of fuel, which took 14 hours to correct and get on the road again, our lives can also run out of gas. I should have taken a closer look and better care of what I was doing, and I wouldn’t have let the people down that were with me. Incidentally, all of the senior adults were shuttled to their hotel by another bus and did not sit in the bus all night.
Are you running on empty? Only you can tell.
