Advent and Packaging

Shannon bought me a small thing of cologne for our anniversary. (It was 22 years a few days ago.) It came in a box, wrapped and then encased in the "armor" of one of those sealed plastic containers, the kind you know were inspired by shoplifters. The "armor" was that thick, soft plastic that you can't pull apart with your hands or tear with your teeth. You need a knife or scissors, and even then it's a big struggle. Many things come packaged this way. Whatever it is you've bought or been given, you have to fight to free it from the packaging. It's the same with the gospel sometimes. We're the ones that put the packaging on it to protect it, and in doing so we make it difficult for many to break in. Here are some of the ways we do this as Christians:

1) We downplay sin. We think that sin won't sell and so we minimize it. We're embarrassed by it. Don't bring it up. The problem here is that the entire life, death, and ministry of Jesus Christ becomes pointless. No sin, no reason for a savior.

2) We overemphasize human spirituality. We think that if we merely tap into people's spiritual feelings, we will be helping them and making headway for the gospel. We forget that all of life is spiritual. The gospel promotes a sharpened, limited spirituality only, not any spirituality. It's Christ or nothing. From the world's perspective, this gospel is unspiritual. Remember, the Romans thought that Christians were atheists because they didn't believe in all their gods.

3) We sell success. Especially in the western world, we in the church love to wear success on our face. We want the world to see winners. Then they'll want to join us. It doesn't work. In many ways, Christians are losers in this world. We lose out on the world to gain Christ. Success creates a narrative that displays human strength and character. This blinds and deafens people to Christ. If we're the heroes, who is Jesus? Why do we need Him?

These are just some thoughts on packaging. If you are struggling with it yourself, break out your biggest pair of scissors and take no prisoners. You'll get what you're after, if you don't quit. :)

PRAYER: Lord, we thank You that You put no obstacles between us and Yourself. In fact, Christmas and Easter both prove that You have done everything to remove the packaging, the obstacles. This shows us Your love for us in a way that humbles us greatly. We love you because You first loved us.

TOMORROW: Advent and Politics