Jesus Is My Co-pilot…Or Is He?

James R. Aist

Its not as common as it used to be, but do you remember when lots of Christians proudly displayed this message on the rear bumper of their car: “Jesus Is My Co-pilot”? That’s a catchy phrase alright, but is it good theology? Let’s look more closely and find out.

One need not think very deeply to realize the theological implications of this bumper sticker. If Jesus is my co-pilot, then who is my pilot? That would be me, of course. In this scenario, I would be in charge of my life, and Jesus would, in effect, function as my assistant. I would want Him right there by my side to steer my life away from trouble and into prosperity. But, heaven forbid that He would ever even think that He’s in charge! After all, its my life, isn’t it?

Or, is it? The Bible says that our life is not our own now, because we have been redeemed; that is, we have been bought by a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). It goes on to say that, as Christians, it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). Before God saved us, we were living as “pilots of our own planes.” God did not even appear in the equation of our lives at that time. We were without God and without hope in the world (Ephesians 2:12). But God the Father drew us all the way to Jesus (John 6:44) and gave us the gift of saving faith so that, from that moment on, God had a rightful claim on our lives, to the point that He has a right to do anything with our lives that He wants to; we now belong to Him (Mark 9:41), not ourselves.

It can be a long, hard struggle for us to get to the point in our Christian walk that we are really and unequivocally surrendered to God’s will for our lives, no matter what that may look like. But when we get there, it will begin to show. Our friends and family will begin to see outward signs that we are no longer living for ourselves, but for Christ. At that point, we will be fulfilling the chief end of man, the main reason that God created us in the first place; that is, to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

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