July 13, 2015
Nope! This is not a 1983 Corvette! It is a 1968 model! I could not find a photo I could copy of a 1983 Corvette!
I Timothy 2:3-6
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
Have you ever seen a 1983 Corvette? You can see one at the National Corvette Museum – and it is the only one in existence! Here’s the story of the missing Corvette (from www.corvetteblog.com/2007/02/corvette-museum-the-missing-1983-corvette/):
The planned 1983 Corvette brought forward some of the most far reaching design
changes in Corvette’s history….There were 43 pre-production models built (but)…
Before production lines began, California voted to make emission controls more
stringent than ever, and the 1983 model wasn’t prepared to deal with it.
All 43 prototypes were ordered to be destroyed but canny assembly plant person-
nel hid one vehicle for years, changing the paint scheme, and moving it around
until they received a commitment from GM that it wouldn’t be destroyed.
There is just one 1983 Corvette! It is unique!
There is just one Savior – The Lord Jesus Christ! And He is unique! And He provides the only way to obtain eternal life! This is how the Apostle Paul presents Jesus’ uniqueness in I Timothy 2:3 through 6:
God our Savior…desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge
of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men,
the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all….
What would a 1983 Corvette be worth? Remember, it is a brand new 32 year-old car that is one of a kind! I suppose if it was parked in your garage or driveway, you might never again have to worry about having enough money!
But Jesus plainly challenged us in Mark 8:36 and 37: “…what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” What is a person’s soul worth? When a person is facing eternity, that person’s soul seems in his or her mind to go way up in value!
• Queen Elizabeth the First of England died in 1603 at the age of 69. Her dying words were, “All my possessions for one moment of time.”
• François-Marie Arouet (pen name – Voltaire) died in Paris at age 83. He once said of Jesus, “Curse the wretch!” But on his deathbed he cried out to his doctor, “I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months’ life. Then I shall go to hell; and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!”
• Thomas Hobbs (political philosopher) was 91 when he died in Derbyshire, England. His last words? “I say again, if I had the whole world at my disposal, I would give it to live one day. I am about to take a leap into the dark.”
So instead of owning an automobile – or anything else – that is worth a lot of money, own Jesus Christ as your Savior! When the time comes for you to pass into eternity, He is of incalculable worth! Having Him means (in the negative) you will not be condemned in His final judgment (see John 5:24), and you will not face the eternal fires of hell (see Revelation 2:11; 20:6). In the positive, you will reign with Him during the Millennium (see Revelation 20:6), and be with Him forever (see John 3:15, 16; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:12; I John 5:11-13).
Also – as if the eternal benefits were not enough! – Jesus came “…that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” It would be redundant if Jesus was applying this to life in eternity. After all, life with the Lord in heaven certainly will be abundant – and then some! It is written in Revelation 21:4:
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the for-
mer things have passed away.
No, I believe abundant life refers to living here and now. And it is not necessarily the abundance of mammon (John 6:24) – money and the material things money can buy. I believe it refers to the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 and 23 (NIV): “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” If you have these nine manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit in your life – in all situations – then you will truly have abundant life!
So what would you rather have – a 1983 Corvette in your garage? …or Jesus Christ in your heart? …the One who said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly…”?