Thought for the Week

by Rev John Carrick, retired Director of Middle East Christian Outreach

The past September weekend signals the end of summer for Largs. The second wettest on record and yet there were some glorious days, like the memorable 40th Viking celebration. The crowded prom reminded me of Largs when I was young. Memories stirred of Harry Kemp’s packed Amusements and crowds enjoying the salesmen’s banter on the auction stand behind. Then there were the Open Air Mission’s seaside services, where dozens of children were captivated with stories and sang their hearts out, while crowds of adults looked on, proving religion need not be dull.

While a student, I was invited to join the team one summer. Holding a passing audience was a challenge, but using objects helped. In one talk I used milk bottles: one empty and one full to explain that as they were made for a purpose, so are we. (No swipe intended at the existentialist claim we’re just grains of sand washed up on the shore of being) I explained that as we give the empty bottle to the milkman to be filled with goodness, so we can give our lives to God for him to fill them with his good purposes.

Trying to make it interesting yet fun, I squeezed items into the empty bottle, asking if each was right. Pieces of fruit, coloured paper, toffees and washing clothes each received the expected “NO!” The louder the “NO’s” the more passers-by stopped to observe. It was all going well until I suggested that some slim stones in the bottle would make a good table decoration. But the first stone in smashed the bottle, leaving me holding only the neck. My shocked look caused much mirth for the adults. What to do next? My talk was far from over.

Suddenly: inspiration. Looking up at the adults I said, “Isn’t it true. When we put the wrong things into life, the bottom falls out.” One man, impressed, said he was sure I had planned it. Not so. But the memory of that broken bottle in one hand and a full bottle of milk in my other hand remains, as does the truth they each represent.