The wrapper counts

A few months ago I was in a seminar where author and church leader Earl Creps observed that "the wrapper the message comes in counts." Certainly those who market products know that! Whether you're selling perfume or dishwashing liquid or automobiles, packaging counts. And when the issue is sharing the gospel of Christ with the world, the wrapper the message comes in counts.

When Christians talk about the incarnation, they are referring to the fact that Jesus Christ, God's Son, was born, lived, died and was raised again in this everyday world. He was God Incarnate, God-in-the-flesh. It's a mystery of profound proportions. But it's also a mystery to reflect on the fact that the church, as Christ's Body in the world today, still is to "incarnate" the gospel. It's like the story of the little girl who thought about Jesus as God "with skin on." The community of faith is in the world to represent Christ, to be his ambassadors. So the wrapper the message is in counts. If we aren't demonstrating Christ's way of love, reconciliation, self-giving, then the wrapper is undermining the message. Or, if we're substituting glitz for spiritual formation, if it's all about appearances, then it won't take folks long to figure out that no matter how seemingly attractive the wrapper, it doesn't match the message.