A Loose Screw

An Arkie's Faith column from the October 11, 2017, issue of The Mena Star.

I volunteer at a local food pantry. Once a month we receive a shipment of food from the River Valley Regional Food Bank. The last time that we received a delivery, I met the delivery truck with a couple of friends of mine who also volunteer at the food pantry. After picking up the food and delivering it to the food pantry, we each went our separate ways. I headed back to work in my 1962 Rambler American.

As I pulled away from the food pantry, my Rambler started sputtering and running poorly. Because my gas gauge doesn’t work, I thought that I might be running out of gas, so I headed for the nearest gas station. It only took seven gallons of fuel to fill the Rambler’s tank. I knew that being low on fuel wasn't the problem. After filling the tank, I wasn’t able to keep the little car running enough to drive it. The engine would start, but it ran so poorly I couldn’t move the car.

After a few minutes, I decided that it wasn’t going to run, so I would have to walk back to my shop. Just as I was closing the hood, someone stopped and asked me if they could help. I told them that I could use a ride, so they drove me to my shop. I returned with my Dad, and we towed the Rambler back to the shop.

It was a couple of days before I had time to look at my Rambler. I suspected the fuel system, but when I checked it out, the fuel pump was working great, and plenty of fuel was being delivered to the carburetor. Even though I had rebuilt the carburetor several months ago, I took the top off to inspect the needle valve and jets. Everything looked fine.

When I checked the ignition system, I found that there was a very weak, almost imperceptible spark. What could be causing a weak spark, I asked myself. The points were brand new just a few hundred miles ago, and I checked that they had the proper gap. It wasn’t the points. I replaced the ignition coil and the coil wire. I still had a very weak spark. It wasn’t the coil. What could it be?

A few months ago I had a similar problem with the car, and after rebuilding the carburetor, replacing the spark plugs, replacing the points and distributor cap the problem was finally fixed when I replaced the condenser. Could the new condenser have gone bad already? I decided to change the condenser. When I was replacing the condenser, I noticed that the screw that attaches the condenser lead to the terminal of the points was a bit loose. I didn’t think too much about it, but when I was reinstalling the screw, I found that it was very difficult to get tight.

After installing the condenser, the little Rambler started right up and ran fine. I’m sure that the condenser was good, and that the problem all along had been the loose screw. Such a small thing had caused to much trouble. It made me think about how important each part of a car is if you want it to run properly. Just one small screw being a bit loose made it impossible for me to drive my car.

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Many people feel like they are unimportant. They feel that their lives just don’t matter. Nothing they can do will make a difference in the world. They feel that they are just a small insignificant part of the world.

Even though the screw that fastens the condenser lead to the ignition points terminal is very small, if it isn’t doing its job the car can’t function. The same is true in God's Kingdom. 1 Peter 2:5 (NLT) tells us, "you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.” In a physical building, a missing brick leaves a hole in the wall. God wants us to be a part of something so much bigger than just ourselves, but he wants us to know that we have an important part to play.

Another symbol that the Bible uses for believers is the body of Christ. I Corinthians 12:12,13 (NLT) tells us that “the human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

When you become a Christian, you become a part of the body of Christ. He is the head. He leads the body. But He needs you. He has a special purpose for you. We read in 1 Corinthians 12:18 (NIV), "God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." There are more than seven billion people on this planet, but God made only one you. You are unique. You are unlike anyone else who has ever lived or ever will live. He made you because He wants someone exactly like you. He has plans for you. You are important and necessary. The  Bible says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a  separate and necessary part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27( NLT)

Gentle Reader, many people today are experiencing feelings of insignificance because they compare themselves to others. There will always be someone who you feel is more important than you. There are many more important parts of an automobile than a small screw inside the distributor. But that small screw is so important that if it is loose, the automobile isn’t usable. We each have an individual purpose that cannot be compared to anyone else. You are a separate and necessary part of the body of Christ.