The Chase
Let’s examine the resurrection of McLaren’s road-car business. All of its cars have had seating for just two (or sometimes three, or apparently just one) with an engine mounted in the middle – “midships” in British vernacular – and the bare minimum of creature comforts. Within this extraordinarily narrow band of characteristics, McLaren launched its first entry into the Grand Touring category: The 570GT.
Grand Touring has been epitomized by that other quintessentially British make, Jaguar, whose “grace, pace, and space” have endowed E-Types and the like with everything a person (or two) needs for spirited long-distance driving. Yet the Jaguar of McLarens ended up a lot closer to McLaren than Jaguar; it weighs just 3,350 pounds, hits 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, and offers 13 cubic feet of luggage space below an entirely glass cargo cover and above a shrieking 562-horsepower twin-turbo V8. Pack accordingly.
It’s a stretch, but the 570GT could conceivably be used for a weekend getaway. McLaren went after a specific market with a tenacity not always seen among car manufacturers, yet often seen in the Bible.
When Jesus describes the tenacity of God chasing after “one sinner,” he speaks of a God who uses extreme measures:
“Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.’” (Luke 15:3-6)
It isn’t enough for God to have 99 percent of people saved and forgiven, humming gospel songs, buttoned up in church clothes on a Sunday morning (and really, some of those folks could be lost sheep suffering in disguise). As long as even one person is wandering, God is working.
God chased after the woman at the well, a person who distanced herself from people, by sending Jesus who told her that he knew her completely and still loved her fully.
God chased after all those self-righteous religious leaders by putting Jesus in their midst to correct their flawed reasoning and then exemplify the love and selflessness totally missing from their lives.
God chased after the thief on the cross by placing Jesus next to him so he wouldn’t suffer alone.
God chased after you when he first put someone in your life who prayed for you, prayed with you, and explained his goodness to you, even if that day is today. He isn’t content with having all those other people who seem to be “good people” (whatever that means). He wants you because you are you.
If this is hard to grasp, here are two ways God has chased after you:
The work God has done in your past. A popular prayer in the 12-step tradition offers thanks to God, “who kept you from the full consequences of your past.” God chases after you and sometimes saves you from yourself.
The gift of the Bible itself. No other book or volume so thoroughly covers God, humanity, and you. You can use it to learn everything you need to know about these three topics, which is why the brilliant and faithful philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, “When you read God’s Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself, it is talking to me, and about me.”
God chases after you even more powerfully than a carbon-tubbed two-seater chasing after luxury car buyers. It’s more like Aston Martin going after the sub-compact crowd (and government regulations) with the Cignet, or Malaise-Era Dodge going after sports-car buyers with the Shelby CSX, or Lotus – yes, Lotus – building its 900-horsepower, electric Eletre SUV and chasing after whoever buys those. It’s God going extreme, for you.
McLaren built the 570GT’s rear hatch with hinges that can be attached to either the right or left side, depending on the market, so it always opens up to the curb it’s parked next to. Like a new fridge. It isn’t enough for this kind of cargo capacity to be available to you. Like God, it must also be open to you.
