“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” -John 10:10

Okay, here’s your car mechanic tip for the day: have your tires rotated regularly. Mechanics know that the front tires wear at a faster pace than the rear tires since they actually move when the vehicle is turning and encounter greater stress being in the front. So, to get maximum life out of a set of 4 tires, tires should be rotated every 6,000 miles.

Last week I took both of our vehicles in to have the tires rotated (no, not at the same time). As I waited for the second vehicle to be finished, a thought occurred to me. In this age of super technology and major technological advancement, tire rotating has not changed. I guess we’re still rotating tires exactly like we did when tires were invented.

So it goes with so many maintenance issues. Cleaning a filter on an air conditioner, flossing teeth, sharpening a lawn mower blade and many more examples, all involve simple maintenance. There is nothing fancy or clever or electronic about it. Most maintenance items are like that- boring but necessary.

Maintaining important relationships is a lot like rotating tires. Any healthy relationship is going to have conflict. The key to getting through that conflict is doing the day-to-day loving maintenance to keep the relationship focused and fresh.

Today, Al and Tipper Gore announced that they’re divorcing after 40 years of marriage. 40 years. Of course, that decision wasn’t made overnight. They said, “Our relationship grew apart.” Of course it did. Without maintenance, mower blades go dull, tires wear out, teeth fall out and relationships drift apart.

Of course, the most important relationship we will ever have is with our loving God and Maker. Because of God’s plan to send His Son to the cross, through faith, we can all be friends with God. But the relationship requires maintenance. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, that relationship is sealed forever (Eph. 1:13), but the quality of that relationship depends on how well we maintain the relationship. Too many friends of God live without doing the necessary things that keep the relationship focused and fresh.

When we mess up, we confess that to our loving, patient and forgiving God and move on. We spend daily time in God’s Word. We intentionally go to God in prayer all day long. We do the things necessary to keep our relationship up to date and valid, not out of obligation, but because we’re at our best when we’re in touch with our loving Father.

So, don’t forget to keep the maintenance schedule in your walk with Jesus. If you do, you’ll experience the true abundant life.