Keys to the Kingdom by Carolyn Tucker
4-Barrel Carburetor
I really enjoy walking down memory lane at car shows and looking at the gorgeous classic ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s cars on display. I have personal fond memories of these powerful beauties because the first car I remember my folks owning was a ‘59 Chevy Impala. And later, when I was in high school, I was permitted to drive their ’68 Chevy Caprice SS. Wowie zowie; this car was so classy she even wore skirts! Something unexplainable happened to me during those years that caused me to fall in love with glasspacks and 4-barrel carburetors.
As opposed to a 2-barrel, a 4-barrel is a more-complex carburetor commonly used in high-performance engines. It uses two primary and two secondary barrels to supply air and fuel to the engine which results in increased horsepower and performance. Only the primary barrels open at idle and low-rpm driving, but the secondary barrels open up during high-rpm driving, e.g., passing vehicles or just flooring it for the fun of it! Modern cars don’t have carburetors; they’ve been replaced by fuel-injection systems. Ah, for the good ol’ days when you ran out of gas and had to save a little bit to pour into the carburetor. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to!
At my age, I’m pretty much considered a “classic” because I’ve noticed that when I wake up in the mornings, I just don’t feel like I used to at 22. I’m basically just idling on a 2-barrel carburetor for several minutes. But as I meander to the kitchen, I know I’ll be strengthened, encouraged, and reinforced with power once I read my Bible and devotional books. As I spend time with my heavenly Father, He begins to pour fuel into my 4-barrel which enables me to get started and have the power I need for the day. Dad used to say, “You never know what the day holds when your feet hit the floor in the morning.“ And I might add, “So you better take time to fill up your spiritual gas tank so you won‘t run out of power.
Apostle Paul wrote that we believers are in a race. So we can think of ourselves as driving a race car. Every day we run laps, around and around, and it takes lots of focus, determination, strength, and power. So it makes sense that every morning we need to get our jump-start from Jesus (and a cup of coffee) to get us up and running at full throttle. Every believer finds his/her source of power in the Father, so we can commit our prayers to Him in confidence. Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Church of Ephesus and surrounding area churches: “May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality” (Ephesians 3:16 AMP).
There’s power in a 2-barrel, but I would most-certainly choose the mighty power of the 4-barrel. As Christ followers, it’s our choice. So why be puny when you can be powerful? The “inner man” is the true and enduring self — who we really are. So we need to keep our heart (inner man) tuned up so we can accomplish our calling and participate in the race of life at full power. Thankfully, we don’t have to try to live our lives on our own strength. “Now all glory to God, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20 NLT).
The Key: In the words of Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, choose more power.