Jun 10, 2010 By Bud Lambert 3 min read

A friend of mine that owns a ’33 Plymouth Coupe recently went to Carlisle with hopes of finding a radiator cap. He finally found one and although it was rusted pretty bad, he still wanted $300 for it. The vendor explained that it was a genuine cap and it was worth that much because it was the original. With some polishing and some new chrome, it would be as good as new, in other words, restored.

Sometime during the conversation he asked my friend if he had an original grille. He said yes, and the vendor told him it was worth a lot because it was an original. Then my friend told him that the driver’s door was in perfect condition with no body filler glaze, because the door was the original, made from steel.

The vendor said that he should contact one of the companies that manufactures the body parts for these cars because they would use his door for a mold, since it would be a perfect mold, and he could name his price.

I owned and operated a body shop for a number of years and a term that is commonly used is Like Kind Quality or LKQ. The insurance companies force the shops to use these parts because they are cheaper. The problem is, they are cheap replicas. They do not line up with the other parts, they have many defects because they are not original. They are not made from the original perfect mold.

Now, let me ask you, do you believe that you are made from a perfect mold? Of course you are, God made us in his image.

Then why aren’t we perfect?

Let me explain. God is perfect. Adam and Eve were perfect. But what went wrong? Grab your bible and go to Genesis chapter 3, beginning to read in verse 4.

You see what happened? Adam and Eve took the perfect mold that God made them from and they twisted it and bent it to line up with the mold that they wanted to be and it didn’t line up with his mold and just look at the consequences. It changed everything.

We are called to be Christ-like, to be perfected in Christ. Jesus is the perfect example of being made from a perfect mold. When you walk in church or amongst other believers, are you genuine or are you a cheap replica? Do you line up with the word of God or are you generic?

But, there is good news. No matter how rusty, pitted, or beat up that you may be, God can and will polish you and restore you to the perfect mold that he desires for you. Please read Acts 2 verse 21.

Salvation is free. Just imagine if you had a credit card that was paid in advance with no limit, no interest, and no payments. We have been bought and paid for. It’s called the highway to heaven card.

There’s a credit card that I don’t want. It’s called the highway to hell card. There are no payments, no interest, and no limit for sin, until you die, and then you have to pay in full.

Which card do you carry?

Bud Lambert is a resident of Lake Lynn.