It’s cold. Really cold. There are mountains of snow in parking lots. That made the electronic sign in front of Walgreen all the better. In big bright red letters it said, “We sell ice.” Aha, a variation on the old saying about carrying “coals to New Castle.” I have often wondered if preaching to a church full of people who already know the Gospel is similar. Are we doing anything more than entertaining them once a week by dressing the old, old story in new clothes?
Then I remember in John 21 Jesus admonished Peter to “feed my lambs.” Just because we have eaten once doesn’t mean we should never eat again. It is wonderful to open the Good News to someone who has never heard it but it is just as important to feed those who know. The world is so pressing, and a good amount of time depressing. We all need reminders of God’s love and care. It is a message that never grows old. Its relevance is timeless. As culture changes so we adapt the presentation but the core never changes. “For God sent not His Son to condemn the world, but, that the world through Him might be saved.” That is eternal. That is the core and bedrock of the entire universe. Without it there is only chaos doomed to an eternal expansion into basically nothing.
And so we shall continue to take our “coals to New Castle” and sell our ice. Without it there isn’t much point in life other than a few decades of reaching for some kind of success, only to see it fade in our later years. I don’t want to sound like Solomon when he said, “all is vanity.” But without the Good News, Solomon was right. With the Gospel, He was wrong.
Written by Roger Bothwell on January 28, 2014
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org