The Merciful Mechanic

Whoo-Hoo!  I have my car back!  My car exhibited its first symptoms of transmission epilepsy on August 16.  I felt like a 16 year-old this morning as I climbed behind the wheel to go to work!  No more rushing to be at the bus stop by a certain time - twice a day.  No more walking to the bus stop in the rain.  No more complicated scheduling of my wife's minivan and begging for rides.  I, and the whole family, are free again!

There is a good side to this story - Mr. Mechanic, who I referred to in my Aug. 30 post, stood by his work.  I purchased the car from him 25 months ago - after he had rebuilt the transmission.  He gave me a 24 month, 24,000 mile warranty on his work.  The 24 months was past, but I had only driven 17,000 miles.  I was completely at his mercy. 

We had discussed different options for the bill over the phone during the past two weeks.  He started out saying he would certainly cover the cost of the parts, but the labor wouldn't be covered under his warranty.  Then he suggested he would split the labor cost with me.  I told him I would pay whatever he felt was fair.

Maybe he was feeling guilty for the demon-possessed loaner car he gave me (see my Aug. 30 post).  Maybe he felt guilty because I had to wait five days before he could start working on it, or because my car was in his shop for another nine days .  Or maybe he is just customer-focused and felt he should do the right thing.  The total bill from Mr. Mechanic for fixing my car was an absolutely beautiful $0.00!  And, he even delivered my fully-healed car to my house!  Of course, he had to bring a battery with him so he could drive the demon-possessed loaner back to his shop.

I can't be certain of the reason why he was merciful to me; all I know is that Q Transmission treated me more than fairly.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."  Just as I was at the mercy of Q Transmission for the repair bill, I am also fully dependent on the mercy of God for the forgiveness of my sins (as we all are).  It was His great love that sent Jesus to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  It is His great love that sends people to us to share the story of His mercy and it is His Spirit that guides us to understand and accept the "gift of God."  Without God's mercy, we would get what we deserve - we would be punished forever for our selfish nature and rebellious acts.  I thank God for His mercy!