To Completion
The best part about washing a car is the final rinse. Pretty much every car looks great like this; if the paint is even in average condition, the finish looks like pure liquid a mile deep. The best waxes try to mimic this look. It’s wonderful.
It’s so good, some people may be tempted to stop here. It’s clean, right? The wind/sun/shop fan will dry it, right? Technically, yes, but it’s not a good idea (more on this later). Sometimes, after oh-so-carefully lathering up a microfiber mitt with name-brand car wash, and rinsing it by using the pooling method (if you aren’t pooling, you should be pooling), some people have been known to hit the easy button and dry the car using the quick-dry method. This involves pointing the car at the nearest on-ramp and hitting foolish speeds as quickly as possible.
Note: don’t do this.
It’s easy to rush or even skip the last step of the car wash. But it’s crucially important. If you skip it, you might as well not wash the car at all. Seriously.
In essence, this is Paul’s message to the churches in Galatia. Early Christ-followers there were eager to embrace the Gospel as it was presented to them, until some Jewish Christians (known as Judaizers) from Judea convinced them that strict observance of the law might be necessary for earning salvation. This was, as Paul expressly states, nonsense. He doesn’t leave room for argument: “… a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16b) He later adds, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Galatians 3:3) and, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7) By skipping out on the fullness of God’s grace, they were basically skipping the whole thing.
If we could earn forgiveness for all of the wrong we do, no one would be forgiven. But God gives us grace, mercy, forgiveness, and so much more, because Jesus paid the price for our wrongdoing through his death and resurrection on the cross. Most Christ-followers believe this. Yet some are tempted to think that maybe having a good track record with God might earn just a bit of forgiveness. It can’t hurt to try, right?
If you have ever been tempted to think this way, read Galatians, and then see if there is any room in the salvation equation for human effort. Think of it like math: if we are 100% saved by God’s grace, is there room for even 5% in there to be allocated to our good behavior?
If you believe in washing a car 100% correctly, is there room for doing 5% of it incorrectly? No, of course not. Might as well not wash it at all. Because if you leave water on the car, particularly on a sunny day, those droplets act like little magnifying glasses on its finish, and can damage the clear coat.
Run the good race. Obey the truth. Rest in God’s grace. Pool that water, and then pick up your boring old chamois and finish the job to completion.
