It’s Not the Chocolate that Matters

When I asked my sons, Luke and Jacob, what I should write about for this month’s blog they began to rattle off a slew of silly things, then Luke said, “you should write about Wonka.” 

“Yeah! We just watched that at our Youth Group movie night, it’s perfect,” exclaimed Jacob. 

At first I chuckled as they continued their list of silly things. But I couldn’t shake it. It did seem perfect. Not just because we switched our movie at Central Youth’s movie night to Wonka (which was fitting due to how much candy there was!) but also because of what the movie demonstrates at its core. 

For those unfamiliar with this new prequel to the Willy Wonka we all know and love, this movie follows a younger Willy in his journey to establish his world of pure imagination. Wonka faces obstacles in his quest to achieve greatness and finds “the secret is – it’s not the chocolate that matters, but the people you share it with. The film’s ending emphasizes the importance of companionship and shared experiences.” (AI generated Google summary).  
 

So much of being witnesses often boils down to “the importance of companionship and shared experiences.”  

Companionship: spending time and building relationships – being there for others in the mundane, the remarkable, the impossibly heavy, and the incredibly joyous moments of life. This is naturally coupled with shared experiences, when life is lived alongside others you are bound to share experiences – from the ordinary to the extraordinary. 
 

When we let people into our world and choose to share life alongside them, we let people see Christ at work.

The way we respond to situations, the way we speak to our family members, the way we talk about our friends, the way we manage our money, the way we steward our resources – and the way we choose to love our enemies.
 

It all speaks to who Christ is. 

It also helps give people imagination of what following Jesus actually looks like. Not the plastered smiles or the judgemental looks pictured in movies, but the small gestures, the apologies, and the beautiful testament to faith that lament can be. 

Wonka also imagines a world where friendships morph into family. This is exactly what the Church embodies – individual people coming together, adopted into the family of God (as we will read about shortly in Romans 8!). As we adopt people into our family they will get glimpses of the family of God. 

This is a picture of moving people in – from Samaria and Judea into Jerusalem to join us at the table.  Invite people in: to share at your table, to experience true companionship, to share experiences with you and ultimately, to witness the sweetness of Christ.
 

Because we know what Willy doesn’t: it’s not the chocolate that matters – but the Bread of Life.

 
Thank you,
 
Rebecca DeLucia
Next Generation Pastor