When
our son, Shane, was a teenager he decided to decorate his room with a Coca-Cola
theme. It’s surprising how many decorator items can found or made to fit the
motif. And soon friends got in on the fun and the collection grew to even
include bottles of coke from Korea, Poland, and England.
One of
the things that he and I had always talked about was visiting The World of
Coca-Cola in Atlanta. Well, before we
took him to the plane to end his most recent visit, we experienced The World of
Coca-Cola. Ruth, under protest, came along also. We were amazed at all of the
collectables that have been created over the years, all of the advertising that
has been produced and all of the luck and good management it has taken to make
the Coca-Cola brand a worldwide phenomenon.
Although not stated overtly, the entire tour
was a celebration of the mission of Coca-Cola. Their mission is: To refresh the
world in mind, body and spirit. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness
through our brands and actions. To create value and make a difference. Wow!
What a noble and lofty sounding mission!
But at the end of the day, when the party’s
over and the friends have gone home it’s really just a bottle of soda pop.
Don’t get me wrong, they have done an amazing job at convincing us that “things go
better with Coke” and that it’s “the real thing”. As a Christian worship leader
“I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…” but it’s not to come
about just because I’d “… like to buy the world a coke …”
It
occurred to me that the mission of the church of Jesus and the mission of
Coca-Cola are remarkably similar. We are to refresh our world in mind, body and
spirit; we are to inspire people with the optimistic hope that God has a plan
for their life now and their future beyond this world; and we are to add value
to people’s lives and make a difference in how they live.
But
the difference is this: Jesus is the one who brings true significance to
people’s lives. It is his atoning work on Calvary’s cross that brings about
true change in the lives of individuals and communities throughout our world.
And his advertising campaign is not created by cameras and slick print media,
but rather by the reality of his presence in our lives – lived before a needy
and desperate world.
So,
the next time you reach for a coke ask yourself, “How am I doing at being a
reflection in this world of ‘the really thing’?”
