In The End
When Porsche introduced its quasi-open-top 911 in 1965, they dubbed it Targa. The name evokes the Targa Florio race in Spain, the oldest road race in the world. Porsche had just claimed an overall win the year before – as well as in 1960, 1959, and 1956, plus scores of class wins throughout the series’ duration. Porsche was on a winning streak during the mid-60s, and won in 1965 (the year the Targa was introduced), 1966, and 1967 (the year the Targa was built for export markets, including the U.S.).
The name stuck. Targas would live on long after the racing series ended. Initially equipped with a folding plastic rear window, it switched to a glass rear window and a removable top for a couple of decades before changing to a sliding glass top in the 993, 996, and 997 generations. Today, 911 Targas are only available with all-wheel-drive, plus a 250-lb weight addition, thanks to more moving parts than the factory that builds them. But the Targa is now here to stay. Even if it takes the form of 1s and 0s in the binary code of the imminent digital reality envisioned by Silicon Valley futurists, it with nevertheless live on.
Will they live on in the flesh? It depends on how you look at it. But we will live on – the “we” that God knows:
“Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in the flesh I will see God.” (Job 19:24-26)
Job’s most beloved words, immortalized in the 18th-century hymn, praise God’s eternality right in the middle of Job’s suffering. Yet to him, the war is over, the victory is won. All because the Redeemer lives.
We can say the same thing. The war has been won, but we still face battles. Jesus’ victory over death is final, but during our time on earth, sin still rules. Satan – the tempter, the devil, the adversary – can’t possibly defeat God, but we see the result of his work in our lives and in the lives of people we love.
So how do we face our daily battles? Let’s think again to the Porsche 911 Targa. As it was gracing showrooms in Germany, Porsche’s rookie racecar drivers Paul Hawkins (age 29) and Rolf Stommelen (age 24) were training for the 1967 Targa Florio. The passenger car was a sales success, but Hawkins and Stommelen still had opposition for the race. If the opposition won, would Porsche strike the Targa name from future models? Would they be unpopular during this important year – their American debut?
No. The name was there to stay. Today, the Targa Florio is over. It can’t be won or lost. A 2022 Porsche 911 Targa 4S driver can’t contribute to its victory or wreck on Turn 1 and register a DNF – a loss.
This is the confidence we have today. The war is over, the victory is won. Our Redeemer lives, and in the end – yes, even after any of the battles we face today or could face in our lifetimes or our descendants’ lifetimes – he, Jesus, will stand upon the earth, victorious, triumphant from the grave. Even when we lose temporary battles in our lives, we will share in that victory in our flesh when we see God one day. He lives to bring us safely there.
For the 1967 Targa Florio, rookies Hawkins and Stommelen did just fine. They were two of the four drivers piloting Porsche 910 prototypes – knee-high racing weapons with 240 horsepower and 1,200-lb curb weight – who scored a 1-2-3 victory. The other came in sixth. Of course, Porsche didn’t actually race a 911 Targa at the Targa Florio. They just carry a name synonymous with victory. In a way, we do too.
