Upsized!

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So I ordered a Suzuki Swift rental car, to be picked up at the airport on arrival. It was late, dark and raining when I arrived. “We don’t have a Swift for you,” they said, “we have upsized your vehicle at no extra cost.”  Fine, I thought, imagining a sedan with a little more grunt.  Not so.  In the dark, as the rain fell gently and I pushed the key to see which car would burst into life, a LARGE Holden Accordia lit up.  I wasn’t upsized, I was up, up, UP-sized!!!  Gigantic upsized!  I had never driven anything so big.  I was way out of my comfort zone, so far in fact I didn’t even know how to start the beast!  Our bags, which would have challenged the Swift, rattled around forlornly in the back corner of the beast. We climbed in. I stared at the array of switches and instruments in front of me wondering if flying a Boeing aircraft was simpler than this. Nervous laughter and panic fluttered through me. I hailed a passing stranger and asked how to start the THING. He showed me, grinned and disappeared into the night with a “you’ll be right now.”  I stared unbelieving his optimism.  How would I drive IT, and more importantly, how on earth would I park IT even with backing cameras.   Taking a deep breath, I put my foot on the accelerator…

Many kilometres and several days later I returned the beast – most reluctantly.  It had worked out more than fine.

As much as I laugh, now at my unexpected “upsizing” adventure (and it does make a good story) I am aware that from time to time God pushes me to “upsize”.  It is easy to settle for the comfortable known and even to shrink God, faith and prayer down to our size. Like the McD order – can I have just the small fries, well maybe the next size but not too much, not enough to  make me uncomfortable.  Just a little bit of God with that, please – what do you mean He wants to up size me? Give me more? He doesn’t ask for a little bit of surrender He asks for all. He doesn’t love us a little bit, He loves us extravagantly.

In a commentary on Romans 5:1-11, Donald Macleod writes, “God went to astonishing lengths for us when were helpless, ungodly sinners. After that nothing is impossible. This is why we are to pray in hyperbole (Eph 3:20) God’s love outstrips imagination. Think of an answer too good to be true – and double it.”

I looked up Ephesians 3:20 in The Passion translation “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.”  This is serious “upsizing”, and frankly I am not sure I always believe it.

My prayer expectation has a habit of shrinking.  Martha and Mary asked Jesus to come and heal Lazarus. They didn’t expect to be made uncomfortable, with a dead Lazarus walking out of a grave!  Mary asked Jesus to sort the wine shortage out only to witness an excessive abundance of high quality wine!   And my favourite, a boy’s lunch fed thousands.  I think God delights in upsizing us. I think He just might throw His head back and laugh at our bewilderment and our surprise.

In the face of so much extravagance what is our reaction?  Do we express our gratitude and embrace Him, or do we pull back and push it away preferring our comfortable known rather than God’s push out into His mind stretching power? 

Do I pray too small? Yes, many times. Do I expect too little? Yes to that too.  Do I want God to upsize me – I am not sure about that – as I found with my BIG vehicle, being upsized demanded more from me. Did I mention how much petrol it drank? Whilst I can look at the cost of the upsizing and how uncomfortable it made me, I also discovered a new confidence in driving, my parking improved and, surprise, it was a joy to drive that vehicle up mountain roads, to unexplored places.

So when I pray, when I ask….I am imagining God asking me if I want to be “upsized” with that. I am going to say YES.

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