FROM THE PASTOR

genuine. replacement. part.

There is a famous statement on The Arnott’s Biscuits brand name that states, see if you can guess, “There is no  ___________  for quality”. Too easy.
 
We see this kind of thing relating to machinery, household white-goods, electronic components etc. Virtually anything that is manufactured, has a label saying similar, “Use only Genuine Replacement Parts”. Manufacturers state this for a number of reasons, mostly, they get you to continue to buy their products, and also that you don’t void the warranty if you use a replacement part without their approval. Remember when the inkjet printer came on the scene? Wow what a fantastic machine, but people complained because the ink replacement cartridges cost more than the machine itself. Then someone came along and made their generic brand that would fit the make and model you had. But to avoid this, the manufacturers said, if you use a non-genuine cartridge, you will void their warranty, so it won’t be fixed free of charge.
 
Another example: cars were the same. Remember when you brought a brand-new Holden, or Ford or Toyota? You had to go to that dealership to get it serviced, otherwise if you took it somewhere else, you would void the warranty? So, if a part broke and it was replaced by someone other than their qualified mechanics, and the part itself was made from another manufacturer, it wouldn’t be covered by their warranty; eventually costing you money to have it repaired. Use only genuine replacement parts. Hmmm. It sounds like a contradiction, don’t you think? If the manufacturer’s part doesn’t work, then we are supposed to use the branded parts they provide? Another, Hmmm. But there are times when this advice is true. Take my wife’s car, a Honda. When something went wrong with a specific part, the manufacture sends out a recall notice and fixes it for free. So then, when the original is no fault of the maker; the only repair that can be done, is provided by that maker.
 
There is a parallel here with our human condition. Look at how so often we mistreat each other. Look at what we often focus our lives on. Something is broken. Broken bad. Inside. Inside of ourselves. Now, this is not the fault of our maker that sin and evil infect and destroy, but God our maker has decided to recall and restore us. God has supplied a replacement; a substitute, for all of us, in order to bring about restoration. But only the GENUINE ARTICLE will work. As Christians, we don’t accept an imitation, a replacement part something we make up for our wrong. There is NO substitute for THE substitute JESUS CHRIST. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name in heaven, and on earth given to us and all humanity, by which we must be saved!
 


We Pray For:
† Pastors, parents and teachers who handed on to us the tradition of the Christian faith.
† Those who are deceived by false teachers.
† Those who are dying, and those who mourn the death of a loved one.
† The church, that it may not be led astray by false messiahs.
† The nations, that they may not go to war against one another but live in peace.
† Volunteers, that they may not grow weary of their service.
† All workers, that their work may give them meaning in life and contribute to the welfare of our society.