Taped

A number of years ago our granddaughter was into cellophane tape. Always creative, we decided that her gift that year would be a month’s supply of tape.  Don’t know if the twelve rolls lasted the month but someone was really happy.  And we all smiled.
Even though the original name for this tape was cellophane tape, it changed in a moment. I don’t know if the story is true but I was informed that Henry Ford had decided to start painting his cars more than just black.  The problem was, they were having difficulty painting a car more than one colour. To paint two-tone this way they needed to paint the first colour and then tape it off and paint the second colour. The first try didn’t go well as the tape pull off the first colour when they removed it. 3M went to work on developing the tape that would do the job. The first time they tried it there wasn’t enough glue on the tape. To which Henry Ford is reported to say; “take this tape back to your stingy Scotch bosses and tell them to put more adhesive on it.” 3M then adopted the name we now have, Scotch Tape.
Recently I needed to put a sign on a plastic bag.  My first thought was, do it the easy way, get some masking tape (the first Scotch Tape). So I did that. Taped it and put it outside. Well, masking tape does not like the cold and before I came outside the next time the sign and the tape was not attached any longer. That was when I grabbed the stapler.  Bang, Bang, Bang. Now it won’t come loose!
Now that I think back on that experience, I see similarities in our spiritual lives. Some go to church on occasion, mainly Christmas & Easter. They come in out of the cold and get warmed by God only to go out in the cold again for a good while and all they learned and experienced comes unglued. I ask myself, what does it take for people to realize the warmth of God’s love and His light in the world can be theirs year round? They only have to use the tape that holds fast? The tape that holds you to God is having a relationship with Christ.
A hymn writer wrote about it in a different way when he wrote;
Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?
-We have an anchor that keeps the soul.-
Totally attached to Jesus Christ, and not with staples.
Something to think about.
Rob