Week 2 PG: 5th Gear

For those of us who drove “stick-shifts” when we were younger, you might recall shifting through the gears as you accelerated. Whining out 1st gear quickly, then 2nd gear just as quickly, then, as the car settled into third and then fourth, there was an obvious
easing feeling coming from the engine.

But! But if you had a fifth gear, and you were driving on the highway, when you shifted up into 5th gear, it was like the car breathed a calming sigh, and just cruised on down the highway. Here is a description of the 5th Gear I found online:

“The 5th gear lowers engine RPMs at highway speeds, reducing noise and wear
and tear.”

Now … it occurred to me that we all want to live in 5th gear. We all want to lower our own RPMs, as well as reduce the noise and wear and tear on our lives – on our Body-Mind-Spirit. Think about that for a moment. Can you relate?

But how to?

Jesus invites us into this life, his 5th Gear Life, with an invitation that speaks deeply into
our hearts:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
(Matthew 11:28-30)

This is the NIV translation, but Eugene Peterson captures this perfectly in his The Message translation:

Come to me. Get away with me and you will recover your life.
Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
Keep company with me and you will learn to live freely and lightly.

We are all looking for this “soul rest.” Only Jesus can deliver it. Only Jesus. And he delivers this A+ Life to the Full when we purpose to get into, and live in 5th Gear, where… “The 5th gear lowers engine RPMs at highway speeds, reducing noise and wear and tear.”

There is so much more to say about this 5th Gear idea, and we will in the upcoming Putting Greens, but for now, listen to Oswald Chambers’ description of the 5th Gear life: “A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his
own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.” (My Utmost for His Highest – August 5)

A “calm, relaxed pace.” Should this be typical of a child of God? Is it typical of you? It can be, as you learn to get into 5th Gear.