Empty Spirited
A variety of engines running multitudes of tunes have motivated the Lexus GS sedan over the years, but the best GS was presented to the world in 2014. That year, the GS-F was born, after receiving the engine and transmission that was hidden in plain sight within the IS-F. The IS-F’s 5.0-liter V8, which had debuted six years earlier, sidled on over to the mid-size GS and snuggled in between the shock towers. Power was up from 414 horsepower to 467, with torque now at 389 lb-ft.
Whereas the IS-F dampers were extra crispy, the GS-F was tuned soft. It got a torque-vectoring rear differential, styling tweaks, and a completely new identity. Other mid-sized sports sedan were more powerful (Cadillac), classically beautiful (Mercedes-Benz), or had all-wheel drive (Audi). But the GS-F was just a rear-drive, all-motor, dual-cam, direct-injected, competent and comfy mid-size sports sedan with modern Japanese styling, flared fenders, a 17-speaker brand-name surround sound system, and electroluminescent gauges (reminiscent of the LF-A) that changed appearance based on which drive control setting was selected. In short, a peach.
But the GS-F couldn’t be the GS-F without the IS-F’s engine and super-smart transmission. Without those, the GS-F would have been just another cushy Lexus sedan, albeit a decent one.
There’s a temptation to think of the human experience in this way, of incremental improvement and gradual erosion of extraneous material that detracts from a person’s authentic personality. However, Jesus promises something greater than that:
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘”I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes even other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:21-26)
In this parable, the strong man guarding his house is a person attempting to protect their heart from forces they deem repressive or toxic. This works occasionally, but some forces are more powerful than a strong will: addiction, disease, death, or even, sometimes, strong emotions or temptations.
Jesus is stronger than any of these things. He alone can cast them out like demons. Then, he looks at that empty void between your shock towers and fills you with anything greater than you had before. You aren’t just a better you, but a new you. You have a new identity, yes, with more power than the competition.
When you pray for God to intervene and remove unwanted misery from your life, ask also to be filled completely, to the brim, so there’s no room for anything less than pure God-like power (and personality) all the time.
Because the Lexus GS had to serve a variety of needs, it came in a variety of flavors. There were base models, hybrid models, and F-Sport packages. It left the market in 2020 with no apparent replacement. Lexus might want to hurry and fill that void. It’s only a matter of time before someone else does.
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