Have you ever searched for hidden treasures? Bill Fair can only wish it were his garage he was cleaning out. Hired by the Texas attorney general’s office to clean out a storage unit after a judgment against the building’s owner, the Lecompton, Kansas, man made an incredible discovery. Under piles of junk, Fair discovered a classic 1966 Shelby Mustang—one of only 1,100 ever made. Encased in rubbish for perhaps decades, the vintage sports car was pristine, according to Fair. After he reported the discovery to the Texas attorney general’s office, the car was quickly towed away where state officials hope to auction it off for around $200,000.Carroll Shelby was a race car enthusiast and he is also known as one of the greatest car designers in the world. He had a streak in him that said speed! When AC Cars of Thames Ditton in England lost their manufacturer for the lightweight, but powerful Bristol motor in 1961, Shelby saw a great design in a car that he really treasured. It was known as the Ace Cobra. He ended up contacting Charles Hurlock, the owner of AC Cars, and talked him into continuing to build the chassis but with a certain modification: a chassis that could stand up to a good old US V-8 engine! Shelby was not sure where he would get the V-8 motor but he liked the idea and was determined to pull it off—which he did in 1962, just a year after receiving the first chassis from AC. It was a marriage of the British Ace roadster and Ford’s hot new 260-cid V-8 engine. Later there was a 289 which now put the Cobra up to 380 horsepower and crowns in the SCCA-A-production and the US Road Racing Championship.
I understand that for some this story is not really all that exciting. After all, some of you just want to have a car that takes you from point A to point B. That’s understandable. But I tell you this story for this simple reason: when a man finds a treasure he is determined to get it and to make it his very own. He’ll work hard to get it. He’ll work harder to make sure that his treasure stays in pristine condition. He’ll go as far as to keep it to himself so that no one will have the inclination to steal it or to vandalize his treasure. Shelby no doubt saw the beauty in what he found to be his treasure. His treasure was in the designs that he made and the cars that he built for speed.
And this is how the Lord would have us to be. Now don’t mistake me! He doesn’t want us to chase after something that we have made with our hands or with our minds to be the treasure that we find and keep. The treasure that He wants for us is only found in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ! Read what Paul wrote in Colossians 2:1-3: For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The true treasure that lasts for an eternity is actually knowing the One who is to be treasured.
