The Parable of the Ferrari

Once a young student was inquiring about the proper way to interpret the Bible. He ask his teacher Thorsten, "What is so wrong with studying the smallest parts of the Bible? Breaking it down to it's smallest components and examining them? Doing word studies? Understanding the Greek? Isn't this the way to having a deep understanding? After all, this is the way we were raised to read the Bible....studying every verse and word under a microscope to see what God is saying."

Knowing the student was more interested in being transformed by his learning and not merely seeking to learn the historical facts of the Bible, Thorsten told him this story.

"There were two neighbors who entered in a contest to win a Ferrari. Despite a billion to one odds the neighbors both had the number to the winning ticket. Ferrari promised to deliver a bright red sports car to each of the neighbors.


The first neighbor cleared out every thing in his garage. When he received his Ferrari he began to deconstruct it. He took every piece apart and put it in it's own place. There was a storage compartment for every part of his new car. He knew his Ferrari inside and out. He could define the purpose of every part and knew the factory where each piece was made. He was so proud of his new found knowledge. When friends would come over he would take them to his garage, and show them how well he knew his Ferrari.

The second neighbor had a garage filled with old rusty tools he did not know how to use. When he received his Ferrari he had to park it in the driveway. The first day he got in his new car and peeled out of the driveway. He pushed the pedal to the floor and went from 0 to 60 within twenty seconds. After leaving the neighborhood he zoomed through the freeway weaving in an out of traffic. He would take it to a race track to find the Ferrari's top speed. Whenever friends would come over he would take them for a ride and show them how fast the car could go and how well it handled.

Neither man was perfect, but which man had a better understanding of the Ferrari?"