God's Tow Truck

A few weeks ago, as I was driving back home from school, there was this huge tow truck that passed me up. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that huge. But that particular day, I noticed something about the tow truck that I’ve never noticed before - on the back of this tow truck was this huge iron cross.

I don’t know if its because I’ve never paid attention to it or why that particular day it caught my attention, but it just stood out to me. And I promise, you all will now notice it as well after today. Anyway, I saw this huge cross on this tow truck, and right then God put a thought in my heart, “Will you be my tow truck?” I know it sounds funny, but today that is the same question I want to bring to you all. Can we be God’s tow trucks?

Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

You see God has called us to be His disciples and follow him. We have heard, sung, prayed about following Jesus so many times! But what does it really mean to follow Him? The Greek word for follow is “exakoloutheó” which literally means to imitate. Paul says in Ephesians 5 to be imitators of Christ. Following Jesus means to do as Jesus did, to walk as Jesus walked, to live as Jesus lived, to love as Jesus loved, to serve as Jesus served, and go out as Jesus went out. That is what it means to follow Jesus.

Okay, let’s go back to the verse again.

So why does Jesus say to take up OUR crosses. You see, in those days, the cross symbolized death. The cross was saved for the most heinous of criminals. So when Jesus says to take up our cross, He is saying that we must put to death our own selves, our ambitions, our own plans and agendas. Only when we become bearers of our own crosses do we TRULY become followers of Christ.

So what does this have to do with tow trucks? Well let me ask, why do trucks have to carry around those huge iron crosses? First of all, they look weird and out of place. And I’m sure it adds extra weight to the vehicle affecting its fuel consumption. But we must look at the purpose of a tow truck. What is a tow truck and why are they used?

A tow truck is a special type of vehicle that is used to transport disabled vehicles or to recover vehicles which are no longer on a drivable surface. Vehicles are often towed in the case of breakdowns or collisions. This is the primary purpose of a tow truck.

You see, all around us are disabled vehicles, vehicles that have broken down in this highway called life, and by vehicles I mean lives. Lives that have been in major collisions and are sitting on the side of road with nowhere to go. But that is why there are tow trucks, to carry those lives to the repair shop, to the heavenly mechanic that is Jesus. You know, only when we are willing to carry our own crosses, in other words, only when we are willing put to death our own nature and desires, can we use that same cross to carry others to Christ. And by doing this, we fulfill God’s desire in our life, which is to become true followers of Christ.

When we become true followers of Christ, we aim to do what Jesus came to do. Like I said before, aim to imitate Jesus. Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus came into this world to seek and save the lost, the brokenhearted, the weary, and the hurt. Ultimately, as believers and as true followers of Christ this is our purpose, to seek and to save the lost, the broken down, and banged up lives all around us.

And lastly, Paul writes in Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast EXCEPT in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Like tow trucks, let us carry our cross to the brokenhearted and hurting, and by taking up our own crosses, we carry those broken lives to the ultimate cross, the Cross of Calvary, where freedom is found, where redemption is found, and where healing is found through our Lord Jesus Christ.