Entry and Intrigue
Some cars appeal to all people, even those wacky non-car people. The Lamborghini Aventador is one such car. Some kids probably have an Aventador poster next to a poster of, say, a baseball player or a lion or something. Someone else includes a Lamborghini in their dreams after winning the lottery (along with a private island).
If you know that the Aventador is cool because it’s got a cool name and those doors that go way up in the air, you’re well on your way to appreciating its finer points: rear-wheel steer, quilted leather seats, active aerodynamics, between 691 and 759 horsepower, titanium intake valves (in SVJ models), and a 217 mph top speed. There’s more, of course, and it’s all just a Google search away.
Believe it or not, God is a lot like a Lamborghini Aventador. Everyone, everywhere, has a sense of his wisdom and the complexity of Creation, even if they don’t attribute it to him. God wants more of a relationship with his people than just an appreciation for some cool stuff he made, but being drawn to him by his wisdom is an excellent start toward that relationship.
Proverbs 8 sums it up this way: “Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud: ‘To you, O Men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind.’” (Proverbs 8:1-4)
To the author, God’s wisdom – the consistency of physics, the intricacy and complexity of the natural world, the moral code underpinning most systems of law, the countercultural wisdom of radical love taught by Jesus – are inherent attributes of God. They’re trademarks of his very character that have been with him in operation from the very beginning (see Proverbs 8:24-31), and they’re obvious enough to serve as God’s calling cards that “call out” like a vendor at a crowded street market.
From this starting point, you are invited to dig deeper:
What role does God’s moral code have in my life? What do I learn from actually trying to live the way the Bible prescribes, or from studying people in the Bible who got it right sometimes and wrong other times?
What does the faithfulness of gravity and the mysterious power of dark matter say about the faithfulness of God and the mysterious power that he holds?
How does the unlikelihood of life in Universe – besides here on lush, verdant Earth – reveal the abundant provision and specific blessings God freely gives to all people?
Why does Jesus’ message of selfless love and total forgiveness speak so strongly to me even though my human experience has made it easier and more natural to be bitter and unforgiving?
Unlike Lamborghinis, God’s wisdom is everywhere. It isn’t something to merely read about and ponder. It’s visceral, tangible, and sharable. It’s life-changing. And it’s perfect. You can read all you want about Lamborghinis, and maybe even see one or drive one or own one, and eventually you’ll find something you don’t like. This isn’t the case with God. A single step toward knowing God offers an immediate reward, and a lifetime pursuit of his wisdom continues into eternity.
Yet unlike God, the Lamborghini Aventador won’t be around forever. It’s woefully outdated; port fuel injection, like sports cars in the 1960s, and an all-motor engine, like a Model T. The next one will almost certainly be hybridized, like the supercapacitor-powered Sian showcased in 2021. You’ll hear about the next Lamborghini. They’re hard to miss. Whether or not you keep digging, though, is up to you.
