Creamy Milk Chocolate

"And He is before all things...in all things He might have the preeminence."

(Col 1:17-18)

If asked to define the word “bittersweet,” most would call to mind a type of chocolate. It contains a combination of both sweet and bitter. As far as I am concerned, it leaves much to be desired to the taste. Personally, I’m an old-fashioned creamy, milk chocolate fan.

Whenever we put anything else into the mixture with Christ, no matter how good its use separately, He loses much of His sweet flavor, and everything becomes bittersweet.  The reason Jesus is so unsavory to many Christians is because they have blended spiritual things with Him. Like John’s “little book,” at first it is sweet to the taste, but when digested, bitter to the stomach.

We hear much talk around the holiday season of how we need to get Christ back into Christmas. But I would contend, we need to get Christ back into His church (Rev.3:20). There is nothing as boring as a church service without Him, in its songs, preaching, praying and testimonies.  As someone has rightly said, referring to Christ’s absence in our lives, “It is like trying to start a car on an empty tank.” Detaching Christ from our services is to reduce them to impotence.

If I were to give my preacher son, Andrew, (or any other preacher) advice when departing this life, it would be, “Make much of Jesus.” As Ian Thomas says, “It is profoundly simple, and simply profound.” A church service does not have to be sensational, but with His presence can have the miraculous!

"Let fire and the cross, let wild beasts, let all the malice of the devil, , come upon me; only may I enjoy Jesus Christ."

(Ignatius 40 B.C.-107 A.D.)