Excellence Awaits
The story of Sir Henry Royce, whose automobiles still bear his name and the tradition of his impeccable workmanship, is one of high expectations. Whenever he set his mind to a challenge – mechanical, architectural, or financial – he went above what anyone was expecting of him. Some of his earliest cars won cross-continental rallies and the infamous Touring Trophy on the Isle of Man, all while being quieter and more comfortable than the second-place, third-place, and DNF contenders.
He set high expectations for his employees too, many of whom regularly worked overtime. On a Saturday, the sixth working day of an already long week, he would look at his well-worn employees, gesture toward the customer cars in the shop – in varying stages of completion – and say, “Well boys, which one am I going home on this weekend?” If none of the autos were finished, he assigned tasks and joined them in assembling any needed component until something was roadworthy.
Royce applied these expectations to inspire, encourage, and teach his employees. Under these expectations, they crafted some of the finest cars ever made, and later, the aircraft components that powered the Royal Air Force, which fought off Hitler’s Luftwaffe and saved England.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus instructed his disciples in a similar style, sharing his high expectations for them. In Mark’s description of the Feeding of the 5,000, one of several miraculous mass feedings recorded in the New Testament, a curious exchange takes place between Jesus and his disciples:
“By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. ‘This is a remote place,’ they said, ‘and it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ But he answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’” (Mark 6:35-37)
Of course, they objected, and then obeyed and scrounged up the famous five loaves and two fish. Jesus blessed the food and it filled the stomachs of the 5,000 men (plus women and children), with 12 baskets left over. Jesus provided through the work of a miracle. Yet he expected involvement from his disciples.
Crucially, these expectations were never conditions for acceptance, love, or salvation. No one received less forgiveness for handing out fewer loaves of bread than the next disciple. Jesus didn’t spill less blood for you on the cross because you’ve never been on a mission trip. Yet, the question Jesus posed 2,000 years ago is waiting for your answer today. With the problems weighing on your heart today, what are you going to do about it?
Maybe this was the question on Royce’s mind when he built his first automobile. He saw the problem: cars were loud, unreliable, complicated, uncivilized, and needlessly overweight. No one seemed immediately concerned with building something better. So, in 1903, after countless tweaks to a used Decauville automobile, he decided to start making his own automobile. He could have waited for someone else to do it, but he didn’t. He answered the call himself.
Jesus is with you. So, what will you do?
