The Will Of God, Coke And Honour. Series

In this time in history the basic desires, the basic drives of the human being are pretty much the same as they have been for all of history. In John’s first letter of three which incidentally I’m working through a series on, we get this directive from this great Apostle, who walked along side Jesus. This man who as a young fisherman followed Jesus, saw Jesus crucified and risen from the dead. He gives the church he was writing to this directive. This is it!

In 1 John 2: 15-17. Now that’s two pretty powerful verses.

For John talks about what this love of the world looks like: three things become evident that show love for the world:

• The cravings of sinful man

• The lust of his eyes

• The boasting of what he has and does

Then John goes onto say that this – “comes not from the Father but from the world.”

Now there are a lot of things we can talk about here like those first two points I could easily talk about sexual attraction, or the lust we sometimes have for things. I could talk about William Booth and how “sometime during his fifteenth year, William was invited by a Wesleyan couple to attend chapel, where he was converted. He wrote in his diary, "God shall have all there is of William Booth." http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/activists/williambooth.html, sited 18/09/2012. But, I’ve decided that I’m not going to. I’ve decided to discuss two different liquids. One of them is water and the other is Coca Cola.

The two I’m going to compare in this way:

Let’s just pretend that water is the God’s kingdom stuff, the things that come from the Father. (repeat)

Let’s also pretend that Coke on the other hand is the world.(repeat)

By my own admission, there’s always some Coke in the Moffatt family grocery trolley. We are Salvationist’s we don’t smoke, we don’t drink, or gamble – but hey we have Coke in the fridge.

1) When I see a Coke bottle or Coke advertising I’m keen for a Coke. On a hot day I could be said to be craving a Coke. Water might be better for me, the truth is water is better for me, but Coke contains carbonated purified water, cane sugar, caramel 150d (colour), food acid (338), flavour, and caffeine. It says that about caffeine twice, the second time in bold letters.

On the other hand water contains two hydrogen atoms to every oxygen atom, a virtual trinity of atoms. All life is dependent on water if it knows it or not.

Coke all that yummy caramel coloured, caffeine enhanced goodness. The caffeine helps fuel the craving. That this has all been in the fridge – ice cold, (open the can), all enhances the craving, (take a sip) – how is that craving going for you?

Now remember I’m pretending water is God’s Kingdom stuff and that Coke is the world.

2) Now the lust of the eyes, Coke comes in a “contour bottle” with its hoop skirt appearance and the “dynamic ribbon device” note the attractive red and white against the dark caramel of the liquid. With the trademark Coca-Cola, lettering. Nice! This is one of the most widely recognised designs in the world. Now red and White lettering there’s an idea, [power point of SA Red Shield.] William Booth got this out in 1901 the other was produced in 1956.

So along with the craving and the eye attractiveness thingy Coke is a must! I even found this bottle that has my name on it, have a Coke with Andrew, that’s clever.

Water on the other hand, well its always close, we see it in creation, it sustains life, it cleans us, allows growth, it rains down on us. All life is dependent on water whether it knows it or not. You could deny all knowledge of water but it still sustains you.

Like Coke / the world comes in different flavours; mmm vanilla, with or without sugar and it’s on special often. Water / that kingdom of God stuff is always there, the benefits of it are always there, the life sustaining growth that it brings is always there, you could almost take it for granted, how often do we pass it over for the Coke? Coke that liquid that comes in a variety of sizes, continually costs, not to mention the litter, the rubbish that is left behind. When if we just turned the tap on, if we just leapt into a lake of water we would have a supply that would never run out and the price of which has been paid for us.

The other thing about the world is that just when you believe that you have found satisfaction in Coca Cola, you discover Dr Pepper!