It's just a car, it really is. 4 wheels, an engine and a robin egg blue exterior. And please don't suggest that there is a color more masculine than robin egg blue because you will lose that war, and badly I might add.
What I'm trying to figure out is if that Corolla came to me by, and represents in some way, God's grace in this world. I've been struggling with the way in which God works in our world lately. I have found my theological grid revealing less and less room for God working in the everyday in our lives. Not that I don't believe that God works in our world, it's just that sometimes I wonder if Christians sometimes attribute stuff to God that really isn't God at all and it's about stuff that God really doesn't care about. So I'm not suggesting that God "gave" me the Corolla. The reason I have a difficult time chewing that theology well enough to swallow is because of the incredibly horrible fact that the MAJORITY of humanity lives in such squalor and horrific poverty that I can't really fathom. In light of that it would seem rather trite that God would take the time and energy to deliver a car in my hands. However, I was tortured and consumed by vehicle hunting, especially the day Robin found me. That's the Corolla's name. It fits.
Theologians use a term called "common grace." Basically it means that there is a certain level of grace found in our world that everyone experiences and it is separate, yet linked, to the grace of salvation. It's kind of like the oxygen in the air and I hope that is a decent enough analogy.
Perhaps Robin is evidence of common grace. I'm struggling with understanding a car as divine appointment, you know? But maybe, just maybe Robin showed up because, and is evidence of God's grace in this tragically beautiful mess of life. Not God lining up events and timing for me to buy this car, but God's gracing permeating people and events enough that it worked out this time.
As I reread my post, I'm struck by a tension that exists and I don't know what to do with it right now. How about more consideration?
A friend of mine recently bought a house. Since then, he has been praising God nonstop for bringing it all together; for the low price they paid, for the location, etc. And yet, for whatever reason, God has apparently chosen to allow 1 billion of his children to live in squalor (including 100 million who have no home of any sort). Odd, yes?
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