No Other Rock

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. ~ John 12:32

Note: This devotion is from October 7 and 8

After re-reading these two devotions, I am struck with the idea of branding. Having read so many books on the subject and having worked in marketing for about a decade, I guess it was bound to happen.

For those who are not so “lucky” to be in that kind of warped mindset, you could read a lot about branding specifically as it relates to churches over at ChurchMarketingSucks.com. While I think many a church would do themselves a great service to review information presented on that blog daily, the concept and argument of church branding is a topic for a different day (maybe I’ll move down that path in 2008).

To synthesize the concept a little, organizations and business professionals spend a lot of time and money in an often futile attempt to design and image and reputation that will draw their clientele closer to them by connecting so intensely that they impress an emotional bond so strong and entrenched, they’ll be committed to that “brand” for life.

What’s more, a well established brand will create loyalty that leads their clientele to not only stay with that brand, but refer others to it as well. In current buzz language, we call this being a “net promoter.”

So now, let’s examine this passage of Scripture a little more:

“The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a seed of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit . . . And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw men unto Me.”

What a powerful way in which the Cross speaks to us! This short message serves as our Lord’s towering prediction that by His Cross He would “draw all men” unto Himself. It is the climax of a remarkable context.

However, the Cross – when separate from Christ – has no saving power. But together, they are the most wonderful magnet which ever drew the hearts of earth’s sin-cursed millions.

Christ, presented only as supreme Teacher and Ideal, has never drawn the sin-conscious sons of Adam, who are far too fallen to be charmed into holiness by a mere exhibition of moral excellence, however perfect. What men need is not just a beautiful portrait, but a cure for their sin-disease.

It is the deity behind the manhood which makes the Cross an atonement. It is the manhood within the deity which makes it an atonement for us, and such a magnet to us.
How many businesses would go to all extremes for that sort of magnetism to their brand?

Today, I pray that you and I be “net promoters” of the greatest brand in all of mankind.