Racin' for Pinks

This ain't nothin' political, I'm just keeping Mr. Daniel B. honest by posting whatever I want.

By Miriam Orr

David's Dawson's 2021 Album Cover, Spotify

Anyone remember that infamous scene from Grease, where Dennis Stewarts’ Scorpions leader looks over at Jeff Conaway’s Kenickie and says, “We’re racin’ for pinks,”

“Pinks?” Kenickie pops off, trying to look hard. We all know the T-Birds are softer than they let on, but, this is the 50s.

“Pink slips, ownership papers?” Stewarts’ Leo Balmudo looks disgusted and squints menacingly, shooting daggers that, if this was a movie in 2022, probably would cut Kenickie in multiple pieces and spread his blood across the track. Launch him into The Upside Down, at the very least.

I digress. I’ll make my point eventually….

This is a long introduction to say that I want to share something that the Lord put on my heart earlier this week when I was making my commute to my version of the nine-to-five.

My commute is about 32 minutes total, which gives me plenty of time to rock out to tunes, think, pray, or simply listen and wait on the Lord. aNyWaY.

I was flipping through tunes on my Spotify app and came across Grease, my mind jogging through iconic scenes from the film. For some reason I remembered Leo Balmudo and Kenickie’s pre-race conversation, and the moment Danny Zukko leaps out of Grease Lightning and snatches his foe’s pink slip in victory. We all know this isn’t the end of the movie, however, and I had a few flashbacks of the remaining scenes, but I’m not here to talk about those.

During all this, as my finger lingered over the play button, I had the strange thought of, ‘Who has your ownership papers, Miriam?’ This isn’t anything I’d ever think on my own, which is one of the landmark tells that God is whispering in my ear.

Now, I’ll preface this by saying that I don’t believe people are actually ‘owned’ in a materialistic sense. People on the opposite side of the aisle from me will be quick to label me as a racist or pro-slaver, when in reality, I am neither of those two things. This is a metaphor, a word-picture, or parable-esque, if you will. God does this a lot through scripture, uses word pictures or metaphors, to make a point. Now that we’ve cleared that up….

I know who holds my “pink slip.” I made the decision of who I was going to give my all-inclusive pass to eternity over 20 years ago, when I was a little girl living in the glistening wake of my mother’s salvation. This woman preached Jesus to me and my younger brother and my father without fail each and every day. It was Jesus everything. My own testimony to Jesus is an entry for another time, but I was about five years old when I made the decision to become a sold-out, radical, on-fire disciple for Jesus.

You see, the moment we are conceived we get ownership papers that are automatically titled to "sin" and "separation from God."

Working in a dealership, titlework for a vehicle is an important step in the purchasing/trade/sales process. If there is even a jot or tiddle that doesn’t match up, well - buckle up, there’s problems ahead ladies and gentlemen. You either own the vehicle, someone else does, or there’s a lien against it.

That being said, our default factory setting reads 'humans trapped in sin and separated from God.' Sorry, there's no knob to adjust.

It’s unfair, but that’s the way it works (thanks Adam and Eve). And, the kicker is, there isn’t anything we as people can do about it, because this issue is trapped in eternity and we are carnal, finite people outside of eternity. We need someone in eternity to take care of the issue on our behalf.

It’s kind of like you need a lawyer to deal with matters of the court if you’ve been convicted of high treason and are facing life in the slammer.

Simply put, the pink slip of your life is titled to sin, destination, and "H"-"E"-double hockey sticks. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is. Just as we share DNA with Adam and Eve as members of the same species on Earth, we share in their sin. End game, argument over. There is not multiple choice answer.

All hope isn’t lost, however. Don't sell the Beamer just yet. Just like in titling cars, the name on your pink slip can be transferred.

We can transfer ownership to Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, who gets us out of the pits (literally!). He seeks to take ownership of your life and put you on the path to paradise, where the sea is glass and the streets are paved in what’s even purer than 24k gold. He longs to have communion with you, be the Lover of Your Soul, and put your name in the palm of His hand.

Enter Jesus. He came as our lawyer in eternity and paid the price that gets us off death row. Through His crucifixion and resurrection, Christ made it possible to change the name on our pink slips. He has given us the free opportunity to put His name on the title of our life and make it right.

He is the currency to pay your debt in eternity, and He wants to do all the work for you. All you gotta do is believe it’s true, accept that work, understand you are in the red and confess it, and walk it out.

You gotta race to get that pink slip, Zukko.

Otherwise, we’ve got “title issues” as we say in the business.

It is a long and arduous process if you bring a vehicle in that isn’t titled properly, and sometimes, it costs ya. Nothing hurts worse than a hit to the pocketbook for something as easily-resolved as title work. It takes maybe an hour and costs a one-time fee to get a title transferred out of one name and into yours at the DMV, and then you’re golden. No trouble with the DMV, no trouble with the law, and you can sell your vehicle whenever you want. Even if your vehicle is bank-owned with a lien, the process of transferring still isn’t difficult – takes a phone call and some paperwork.

The same is said with coming to know Christ. It isn’t hard to hand Him the pink slip. He did all of the legwork and the legal work in eternity that we can’t. He just simply offers us the benefits of it on a silver platter. It says it right in Romans 10:13, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Calling on someone carries the implication that you believe they can help, that you’re ready to receive whatever assistance they can provide.

And, just like Zukko, it’ll rock your world. You’ll come to acquire not only eternal security, but so much peace. If you allow Jesus to take the reins and lead you on down the line, the world (and the one beyond this finite place) becomes your oyster, if you will. You will gain a friend that sticks closer than a brother, One who will never leave you nor forsake you, and Peace that surpasses all understanding (Romans 18:24, Deuteronomy 31:8, Philippians 4:6). And in a post-COVID, Joe Biden-astrophe type of world we live in, who wouldn’t want it?

I transferred the pink slip of my life over two decades ago. I know where I’m going when this body is put six feet under. I know my Creator and have come to terms with my humanity. This girl ain’t her own, she’s been bought with the Price.

My title is free and clear.

What about you? The devil’s racin’ for pinks -- and he wants yours. Think you can take him? Or, do you want someone behind the wheel that’s already won this race?

The choice is yours and the race is on. The checkered flag may not be in sight right now, but it could be right around the next corner.

How many laps you got left?