Underinsured?

Posted on Oct 30, 2015 in pastors pen |

Car1 Insurance is a billion dollar industry. People take out insurance on almost everything – property, automobiles, their lives, health and on and on, in the hope of being sufficiently covered in case of an accident, crisis or emergency.

On our recent travels to England, I rented a car for the first 10 days of our trip. And I drove the car everywhere – from London Gatwick to Sandbach, to Liverpool, to Wychnor, to London, to Wychnor, to Liverpool, to Lytham, to Dock Acres, to the Southern Lake District, to Dock Acres, to Newcastle, to Dock Acres, to Liverpool and finally back to London Gatwick. I sat in the worst traffic I have ever seen on the M6 and I drove in the thickest fog I have ever imagined on the way to Newcastle and back, and I drove on roads in the Lake District that are so small, I had to back up a number of times so that cars traveling from the opposite direction could pass me. I had to drive on the left hand side of the road with a stick shift and I have to say, I performed admirably well. I took it all in my stride, until the last day of my car hire. The day on which I was to hand the car back to the rental company. It happened on the final day!

Reinier and I made the hour long journey from Dock Acres down to Liverpool to attend the local derby, the soccer match between Liverpool and Everton at Goodison Park. I had bought the rights through JustPark to park the car in someone’s driveway not far from the Stadium. My GPS took me to the address without incident. As we arrived at the house, I told Reinier to get out and open the gate so I could pull in. As I pulled the car into the driveway, I heard a sickening and scratching noise on the left side of the car and I was stuck. Apparently I misjudged the width of the narrow gate and the car could move no further! I had to back out and as I did that, the same scratching noise again. After a few expletives I got out to inspect the damage. It was worse than I thought. The car was scratched and banged up pretty bad.

Needless to say, it dampened the fun of attending the soccer match just a little bit. I kept reliving the incident in my mind. How can I be so stupid? Fortunately, I had insurance on the car. Yippee! After the game we made the five hour journey back down to London Gatwick, to return the car. It is however here that I found out that in spite of my insurance through the Car Rental Company and even the additional travel insurance I took out, the incident was not fully covered. Bummer! Because I was at fault and no other party was involved, I was responsible for the first $1,600. Definitely not something I planned or budgeted for. It turned out I was underinsured. We took the London Gatwick Express to London for the last few days of our trip, and I kept saying to myself, “What a stupid mistake with the car,” and “Next time make sure you are sufficiently covered for any incident.”

How about you? Are you sufficiently covered? Or are you underinsured? And I am not talking about your car, or your house, or your medical insurance. I am referring to your life insurance. And not the life insurance that pays out an amount of money to your designated loved ones when you die. I’m referring to your eternal life insurance. I’m talking about your everlasting security. I am asking whether you have obtained coverage for your eternal future through faith in Jesus Christ! You can always somehow recover from a stupid incident with a car, but unfortunately you cannot do likewise with your life once you die. You have to take care of it before that moment arrives. The good news is you still can.

The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17 (NRSV). God is offering you an insurance policy through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus on the cross. You take out this coverage by putting your faith and trust in Jesus and accepting him as your Lord and Savior. The moment you do this you will never again be underinsured when it comes to your final destination. That is why Paul wrote, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (ESV).

I want to encourage you to make sure your eternal future is fully insured. And if it is, I encourage you to thank God for the coverage he offers you through his Son Jesus.