It isn't always what it seems

Last week was a little anxious, as one of our cars quit running. Car repair can be simple or complicated, but almost always expensive. The symptoms pointed to a failed battery (simple), so I took the battery down to be tested and sure enough it was bad. I brought a new battery (somewhat expensive) and installed it. But then the same symptoms returned, the car wouldn't start without jumping the battery. Well, it has a new battery I thought, so it must be the alternator (not too complicated). I have a friend who is a farmer, farmers are great because they have tools and equipment for almost any situation or they can at least work around the problem. I asked him to bring in his battery tester which also checks alternators to make sure it was the alternator. We discovered that the alternator was good but the new battery checked out weak, probably one of the cells was bad. I took the battery back and got a new one (simple) and since I had only had the other "new" one about a week there was no cost (inexpensive), just the hassle of switching batteries several times.

I just assumed that the first new battery was good. The guys at the auto parts store didn't intentionally sell me a defective battery, they just hadn't checked it. It wasn't until I put a tester on the new battery that I found it was the problem. Ever been taught something from the Bible that turned out not to be true or at least not as presented? I have and I have also been guilty of doing the same. The teaching came from a reliable source and they weren't intentionally trying to deceive me, because they too believed it to be true. But when questions arose that my beliefs couldn't answer I began to reevaluate my beliefs and to study until I found some answers.

The moral of this story, if it actually has one, is to ask questions and apply the answers to the tester, Jesus, and not just accept what is taught. Easier said than done though, but with the Spirit's help and a believing heart it is possible.