Of Cola War And Cosmic War

Of Cola war and Cosmic war

I agree it is Lenten season. Before coming to the spiritual realm of my Lenten message, permit me to step into the Cola world and come up with “a fizzy equivalent” of it. Most of the Cricket lovers (Cricket is the baseball twin of Indian subcontinent) would know that the last Cricket World cup (before the one in 2011) staged in the subcontinent was in 1996, which incidentally was clinched by a sub continental team from the Emerald isles. However, even before that sporting mega event symbolizing ‘war’ for cricket supremacy commenced, there was corporate cola ‘war’ being fought furiously on the sidelines between two cola giants -Coca Cola and Pepsi- for bagging the title of the ‘OFFICIAL DRINK’ of the tournament. The former, of course flexing a greater financial muscle outbid the latter and clinched that coveted title, which it presumed logically would act as springboard for enhancing its sales volume by leaps and bounds. But unfortunately Coca Cola had started counting its chickens before the eggs had hatched… for it had not taken into reckoning the smaller Pepsi’s advertising department blessed with infinite creativity .

Pepsi, though, it lost out on the ‘war’ of becoming the ‘OFFICIAL’ drink, turned the tables squarely on Coke, by coming out with what many advertising gurus’ still reckon as most creative punch line in the entire Indian advertising history especially considering the adverse circumstances’ during which it was coined. “There is NOTHING OFFICIAL, about it”… this was one punch line (still lingering in our memory) epitomizing the FREE BLITHE SPIRIT which turned cola war that seemed to be going the Coke’s way on its head, as every one simply bought into it excitedly resulting in Pepsi sales booming during that period like never before. Besides enjoying a bottle of Pepsi, just about everybody started using that punch line with a relish even in normal conversations, so much so, I remember reading in Sportstar (a leading Indian Sports weekly) that in a English county cricket game after the WC 1996, the person who stood in for a sick official scorer and compiled the scores in the latter’s absence was nicknamed ….you guessed it …Pepsi…because there was ‘nothing official about him’!!!

In the Biblical realm, ever since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden with tragic consequences, the good Lord besides clear-cut prophecies had also been showing throughout history glimpses of His masterly redemption plan to come in order that nobody should attribute Christ’s atoning death on the cross to mere coincidence. The vicarious sacrifice on the cross would be bereft of its paramount significance, if it were a mere event in history and not a watershed moment, which in fact, it is. Forget human historical calendar being split into BC and AD, millions of human lives since Christ’s I advent have been split into BC and AD. Many like Zacchaeus and apostle Paul would testify with their words and actions what they were ‘Before Christ’ came into their lives and what they became ‘After Christ’ entered their lives. Sinner turned saint tales-all by Christ’s power- still regale the world, for Christ with His infinite life-transforming power is same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8). Is your life divided into BC and AD?

Now coming back to the main point…as it were…even before God’s transforming power started speaking loud and clear in the believer’s lives making them as instruments of change for good, God in His infinite wisdom, had been foretelling Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross through several landmark Biblical events. For instance, the lambs that died in order God could cloth the naked Adam and Eve with their skin (Genesis 3:21) signified the coming Christ. If the God –provided ram that was eventually sacrificed on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:13) by father Abraham instead of Issac also was symbolic of the coming Christ, so too was the Pascal lamb sacrificed by the Jews on the night of First Passover so that the destroying angel would pass over their homes without entering in (Exodus 12:21-22). In fact, Christ’s laid his life on the cross on the Jewish Passover day to leave none in doubt on that score…that He indeed was God’s Pascal Lamb in human flesh and blood to save us from God’s wrath against our sins.

If the good Lord left no room for any skeptic to doubt Christ’s vicarious sacrifice, it ought to follow that He through Biblical history would portray Christ’s victory over Satan also, through at least one historical battle. Welcome once again to David versus Goliath battle for none exemplifies Christ’s triumph over Satan more than David’s victory over Goliath in that immortal mortal combat.

Consider and compare David’s way of slaying his formidable foe with what is penned in Hebrews 2:14 which dwelling on Christ’s ultimate victory, reads thus…