Hidden
Behold, the Tzaddik Ha-Dor of cars, the elusive once-in-a-generation Messiah preaching straight-up automotive weirdness. Saab’s family tree is full of them, dating back to the beginning. There were 2-stroke engines, Monte Carlo wins, a V4 engine, and turbocharging dating to 1977. Then there were Viggens, Aeros, a compact wagon possessed by the spirit of Subaru, and one single year of ownership under Swedish supercar company Spyker. Each as weird as the last, baptized in those peculiar waters of Stockholm, Sweden.
Saabs were “in-the-know” cars. Tweed-wearing professors parked their Saabs together, like a secret handshake in the weird corner of the faculty parking lot. Perhaps, with Saab’s trademark center-console ignition, aviation-inspired cockpits, and “acquired taste” styling, they were selling their product the best way they could. Saab couldn’t sell accolades like quickest, cheapest, or most fuel-efficient. Their cars were great, but not superlative. But Saab could sell Saab. They could sell unique – even singular. And they did.
They were hidden in plain view like Jesus was to that bumbling cadre of hangers-on surrounding him. Remember the time Jesus explicitly told them who he was and what was about to happen?
“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” (Luke 18:31-34)
“Hidden” is a translation from “krupto,” a Greek word that here implies, metaphorically, something that is actively covered, concealed, or kept secret. God included this passage in the Bible for you to understand how important it is to follow God for the sake of following God. It was not God’s plan to invite the disciples in on his master plan. He didn’t want their strategies, suggestions, or reasoning. He didn’t want them to follow Jesus to gain some desired outcome. Jesus isn’t a means to an end. God just wanted the disciples’ hearts to faithfully follow along.
See, you don’t buy a used Saab 900 Turbo to be the fastest kid on the block. Yes, they can be quick, but that’s not their purpose. Their purpose is to be a Saab. You can buy a used Saab 900 Turbo to have the most Saab car on the block. And you can follow God to see where he takes you. Sometimes, he’ll lead you down a road of understanding regarding that struggle that just won’t go away (see Paul’s persistent “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12:7), and other times it will be a road that ends with victory over your struggles (see any of Jesus’ healings). Both roads start and end with God though, because the point is surrender. It’s a victory that comes from losing, and a reward that comes from giving everything up.
As Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). The physical, tangible, immediate, earthly outcome you seek may be hidden within God’s master plan. But your life in God has already been found.
In 1982, the Saab 900 ranged in price from the $10,650 3-door 5-speed to the delicious $16,860 APC Turbo 4-door 5-speed. Within that range, shoppers could find the Audi 4000 4E ($10,855), the Renault Fuego Turbo ($11,000) and the forthcoming Mitsubishi Starion ($15,000). Did Saab faithful actually consider these three cars? No. They couldn’t. To them, the appeal was hidden.
John V16 is the intersection of God and cars. Please support our work and donate a V16-powered 1940 Cadillac Series 90 Sixteen to John V16. Or share this article with a friend.
