Just Like a Ring & Pinion!

            My name is Tom Ratliff and I am the Team RFC Region #2 Director.  That sounds impressive, but basically it means I am responsible for RFC ministry in the Southeast part of the United States.

            God has uniquely gifted and called me to racing ministry and I am so grateful to be working with a ministry like Team RFC.  I love my work, the people I serve with, and the racing community.  I have been devoted to this cause now for 15 years.

            For some time now, Paul Neighbors has been after me to write devotionals for our Team RFC web page.  As I thought and prayed about it, I came to the conclusion that I should start with “devotion.”

            I guess if you looked up “devotion” in Webster’s Dictionary it would read something like, “to be whole-heartedly given over to, or be passionately committed to, a person or cause; to be emotionally and physically committed to.”  I don’t know what Webster would say—I am at a racetrack and neither Webster, nor his book, are anywhere nearby.  But if Webster’s definition of devotion read something like that, I would have to agree.

            To me the key components in devotion are commitment and passion. Each of these words is strong.  Commitment is to stand with or by someone no matter what.

I performed a wedding last week in Naples, FL.  The key element in the marriage ceremony is two people committing to each other to stand together for life.  They commit for better or worse, in sickness or health, to know that they can count on each other always.

            Commitment is like the ring and pinion gear in a car.  Forward or backwards, whichever way they turn, they go together.  When one breaks, they both suffer together.  That is the way a marriage works.  That’s commitment.

            But is all that is required to be married?  Well, yes, but that is not the marriage I want for my wife, Cathy, and I.  A joyful, happy, and fulfilling marriage requires the other half of devotion.  That is passion and love.

            The Bible tells us that love covers a multitude of shortcomings or sins.  If you open your Bible and read I Corinthians, chapter 13, you can see clearly what love is and is not.  Love is what makes commitment palatable, happy, and fulfilling.  Passion is the emotional component of love.  Love is a noun that should act like a verb.  Love is something you show or demonstrate.  Passion is the emotion that takes love to the next level.  It is what you should feel when expressing your love.

            The passion of Christ is the kind of love God has for us.  God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, He gave His only son to die in our place on the cross.  The Father and the Son demonstrated their love for us with great passion and emotion!

            Let’s go back to the illustration about commitment using the ring and pinion gears.  Normally, a ring and pinion should last the lifetime of the car.  In a race car, extreme pressures and heat can cause a ring and pinion to fail.  But still, if properly cared for and maintained, they will last long time. 

The key components to keeping a ring and pinion healthy are proper synchronization and lubrication.  In a committed relationship, synchronization would be communication (that’s another subject for a devotional).  The other key element is lubrication or gear oil.  The oil is what provides the cushion between the gears.  It softens the touch between two hard surfaces.  It accepts the abuse and takes away the heat caused by friction.

In a committed relationship, love and passion are the lubrication.  So in a car it takes both proper synchronization and lubrication to keep a ring and pinion alive and happy.  In a relationship it takes communication and passion to keep a marriage alive and well.

            The sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for us all satisfies the requirements and needs we will ever have on Earth and in Heaven.  How do you feel about that!?

            The purpose and goal of a devotional is to challenge and inspire one to act more committed and to feel more passionate about the cause and person of Jesus Christ.  We pray that the devotionals you read at TeamRFC.org will do that for you and Him.

Tom Ratliff