A 1961 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, doesn’t it just scream elegance and grace, how is it that a car could do such a thing. Cars do though, doesn’t a 1955 Nash Metro hit you with 50’s culture, drive-ins and Bobby Socks. Creativity, God created so much beauty as John Eldredge says, “Gloriously Wasteful” its more than we can ever take in, and inside each and every one of us is that same ability to create beauty, and so John DeLorean, Lee Iaccoa and the vast array of amazing car designers have been at it for over a century now and as I sit and admire the cars above I relive so much of my life right here in absolute beauty to the Christian Car Guy.

The yellow Buick GSX, my father took me to the Chicago auto show in 1967 and there I saw the prototype of the GSX pictured, I have never forgotten the shear beauty and excitement that generated somewhere in me. The yellow Opel GT that I owned in my early twenties and I used to just sit and just look at it. The Black Pontiac TransAm, I had a demo and to say Pontiac’s old slogan,”We Build Excitement” oh yes they did and beauty. That “Cuda” up there on the left was the first car I ever sold and, oh my, every time I see one my heart leaps to get a better look at it.  That baby blue Porsche 917 was the car Steve McQueen drove in the movie the 24hrs of LeMans, what memories, my little brother and I had an Aurora slot car track and they came out with the 917 and the red Ferrari slot cars that were in the movie, even the little headlights worked and so we had a 24 hour race with our buddies in the basement of our house in Naperville, Illinois. The first time I saw that red Acura NSX on the road I had to catch up to it to see what it was, so amazing looking so gracefully low slung. Certainly no list of beautiful cars would be complete without the Corvette C1, General Motors, Harvey Earl’s masterpiece, go to any car show where one is and the crowds will keep coming, clearly just to admire the beauty of it. Hmmmm.

Simone Weil was absolutely right- “Beauty and Affliction are the only two things that pierce the human heart”.  Jesus told his disciples in Mark 9:1 “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” In the very next verses Peter, James and John are headed up with Jesus to the transfiguration. I pray that everyone reading this will someday if not already have seen some of the shear beauty that those three/five saw that day, Jesus in His Glory.

Here is just a glimpse of it that I had. One night about 12 years ago now, I was awakened at 4am with a huge desire to pray not sure what so I quickly tried my wife, my children, even Miss Beck my ninety four year old friend, but that night was different from anything I had ever experienced in any prayer. Jesus showed up and it terrified me. Yes, that’s a little hard to explain, since I know Jesus is inside me always and God the Father is Omni present and I am baptized by the Holy Spirit who groans for me with words I can’t utter, but none the less somehow right at that moment I was keenly aware of a magnificent presence and to feel it is to have a better understanding of the “Fear of the Lord”. Hard to explain but I was terrified.

Jesus, ask me “Robby what do you want?” Talk about being caught completely off guard, I though I was the one who should be asking what do you want me to do, but no it was HIM asking me what do I want.

Not knowing what to say, I glibly responded, “I want to serve you.”

Jesus simply said, “Do you?” there was no condemnation in his question but more a self examination, truly I was freaked out. Then like something you have herd about but didn’t really expect to see for yourself happened. My ‘life started to flash before my eyes’ that is the best way I know how to explain an event that I really can’t explain. Not my whole life but just things that somehow I knew Jesus had put on my heart to do that I had not done. One after another and another they came; I was to call an old friend, ask that one to lunch, reach out to this person, go over and visit that one. One after another after another they flashed before me but not as any condemnation but as tremendous opportunities yet to serve.

I was so excited to see the opportunities before me I went and got a piece of paper to write them all down as I did not want to miss out on any of these. Again there is no way of explaining the sensation of seeing people you know God wants me to reach out to and to know that is exactly the good works he had planned in advance for me to do. It was mind blowing.

Once the list was as complete as I could make it, I then laid back down to confer again with Jesus with a clear repentance. I can’t imagine the prodigal son ran down that road any faster than I wanted to get up with these people I had missed, but at 4am I was going to have to wait. I was already completely thrilled when something even more miraculous happened.

All of the sudden a phenomenal golden light, a radiance that was so profound my heart screamed out, “YOU ARE GOING TO SEE HIS FACE, YOU ARE GOING TO SEE HIS FACE!” A Light you always knew was there but have never seen, a sensation of complete Worship I could perceive I was made for but had never experienced. A sensory explanation for my mind somehow to get wrapped around the concept of, “when we’ve been there ten thousand years”. This was the Glory of the Lord Shinning right here in my bedroom in Clemmons, NC. I threw back the covers and attempted to wake my wife up to share it with her I was so exhilarated.

As quickly as the Glory came it left but I could still sense Jesus there and as I lay back down the understanding washed over me like a giant wave on the beach, as I lay silent letting it pound me. “Robby, now do you know what you want?” Jesus had come to show me a rare insight into my life; my heart has a deep yearning to see His face, (BEAUTY) I did not know was there, but it was there long before I was born.  I believe this phenomenal heart cry is in our DNA waiting to be released, it is my prayer that your reading of this event either reminds you of a similar experience or awakens your heart to your own encounter with The Fairest of Ten Thousand. Our heart were made to be pierced with Jesus Beauty.