Verse of the moment

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
Hebrews 13:8

The Orange and Brown Box:

There are some bags that are not going anywhere. Yes, we get caught up on occasion, our pupils dilate with desire for the latest and greatest, but then there are some things that whatever the weather illicit an electric thrill down the spine that at the time seems quite inconceivable. Observe the orange and brown box. The orange and brown box you might ask? Yes, the orange and brown box, with a single ribbon wrapped around it and in not overly large letters "HERMES" typed across it. The orange and brown box is not a mere retail moment, with one of the world's most beautiful and painstakingly crafted bags ever made. Okay, I admit I think the Birkin is one of those especially amazing creations that in it's universal appeal could only be God-breathed, what else could explain the fact that models and stateswomen, young and old, avant-garde and conservative think that it's a thing of complete beauty? And what of the excitement when the orange and brown box is sighted when it is given as a gift - "Something so very special, precious, for me?!" we cry.

And so it is too with Jesus: Instead of the orange and brown box, which promises the epitome of luxury goods, we have the cross, which is the true example of perfect love, so selfless as to not think anything of itself and everything of others. The cross is from where we know we are entering into communion with God. Without it, we do not know we are definitively dealing with God, and that he wants to deal with us, help us in our travails and cheer in our triumphs. Just as that orange and brown box is a precursor to something that is a more genuine article than the 'made in Counterfeit-ville', so too is the cross. And what of the contents? Once we start experiencing Jesus in our lives it's like nothing else. So luxurious an experience as to have moments when we regularly pause and think "whatever did I do without him before". And then there is the consistency. Just as Hermes have consistently been making breathtaking leather goods for many a year and the bags are of the same quality and durability, so too with Christ there is no fluctuation. Yes, like a classic bag, he might not be talked about as much, figure in peoples' focus as much, be considered 'fashionable', but his perennial importance, relevance and ability to slot seamlessly into our lives does not depreciate with time. In fact even more so than with the orange and brown box, we come to him we realise just how totally irreplaceable Jesus is.