American Racing News Vol 1, Issue 2 Issue 5 | Page 21

to the car…gave me a vision to drive
far…didn’t worry about ending up on a
sand bar…said it’s much better than
shooting under par…I may have to go
to war…in God’s eyes I [we] become
His star!
If we go way back into the history of
motorsports, the vehicles were primitive and dangerous to drive. No safety
regulations, no safety gear, and no
fear of the consequences while daring
to go fast, but these warriors bravely
and lovingly drove the racing world
forward.
Love is what drives the world to a
place of peace and comfort. Love motivates and transforms the most rebellious heart into a pliable and
surrendered heart. When you read of
murderers and adulterers, liars and
cheaters, ungrateful and unforgiving
people in the Bible whose lives were
eternally changed, it wasn’t because
they were special. It was because the
love of Christ came into their lives, and
they bravely dared to venture out—
obedient and changed!
Believers live by faith and not by sight,
so it is not a visual experience that
compels us to dare to trust Christ with
our eternal destination. Seriously
think about how many millions upon
millions of people over the last two
thousand years have dared to make
that simple choice.
When I dared to follow Jesus, family
and friends first thought I’d dared to
take some exotic drug, but my choice
has proved over the years I made life’s
very best decision: Grace made it completely fair…you may have to dodge an
ugly stare…my soul did not tear…it
was the Trinity and not a pair…it was a
choice made with care…a decision by
some standards quite rare…but stand
with me if you dare?
What drives a driver? The horsepower, the G force, the adrenalin, the

noise, the aroma, the physical and
mental preparation, the thrill of victory, the thought of being a champion?
What drives a chaplain? Daring to never stop listening and learning from
God’s Word. Daring to allow godly
thinking to shape their attitude. Daring to keep believing, and loving
Christ. Daring to have the confidence
and stability that only comes from
growing strong in their faith. Daring to
be thankful at all times while rejoicing
in the Lord.
What drives a loving God? Some may
say, how dare a loving God to allow
suffering, pain, and tragedy in the
world He supposedly governs? How
dare He have the right to say Christ is
the only way? How dare a loving God
create both heaven and hell? How
dare a loving God sacrifice His only
Son?
Tell me: Would you dare to sacrifice
your only son to drive the world forward? It wasn’t a double dog dare that
drove Jesus to suffer and die for you
and me. The flogging and crucifixion of
Christ was a bloody, messy, scary
scene—not for the faint of heart, but
done for you and me!
I dare you to carry Christ’s love—and
cross—to your family, friends, crew,
and neighbors. If you accept that dare;
you’ll never regret investing in Christ!
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose,” (Jim Elliot). I dare you to trust
Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Here’s a question. Why did Jesus
Christ dare to choose Judas Iscariot as
one of His twelve disciples, when He
knew Judas would betray Him? Because our Creator loves each one of us
the same, so now think about this,
why would Jesus dare to choose you
or me? He dares to risk the chance of
us becoming disobedient, while daring
to love us unconditionally, not be-

cause of who we are, but because of
who He is!
“But God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:8
NIV). If you dare not to accept Christ,
you’ve wasted more than life on earth.
Jesus dared to drive the world forward: He told the story…so you and I
don’t have to worry…it was truthful,
painful and gory…but in the end we
get to be with Him in glory.
Jesus dared to drive the world forward: He lived the perfect life…to do
away with human strife…He came for
us
to
be
the
Bridegrooms
wife…knowing His Word will cut deep
like a sharp knife.
Jesus dared to drive the world forward: In our place He died…in pain He
barely sighed…with humility, but no
pride…or you and I would have
fried…or tried to hide…maybe even
lied…unable to fully abide…for sure
denied…but by His grace we are verified.

Jim Jack served with RFC for more
that 28 years as a chaplain, Field
Ministry Director, Series chaplain for
several associations, and as the Operations Director.
Jim has been writing this column for
the Drag Boat Review out of Oklahoma since 1998.
Straight Line is about drag racing
and God (and often using music lyrics) written for racers. It combines all
of those themes and is for anyone.