An article was released this past Tuesday by The Lookout stating that Coca Cola’s secret ingredients may no longer be a secret at all. In the article, writer Brett Dykes said, “One of the most closely guarded trade secrets in the history of commerce may be a secret no more: the radio show "This American Life" thinks it has found the exact recipe for the world's most popular soft drink in a 1979 newspaper article.” Dykes continued, “According to the show's host, Ira Glass, the drink's secret flavoring component, which was created by pharmacist John Pemberton in 1886, is something called "Merchandise 7X." The show's staff recently stumbled across the February 8, 1979 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which published an article on page 28 about a leather-bound notebook that once belonged to Pemberton's best friend, another pharmacist in the Atlanta area named R. R. Evans. The notebook contained a number of pharmacological recipes--but the main entry, for students of commercial history, was what's believed to be the exact recipe for the soft drink: all of the ingredients listed with the exact amounts needed to whip up a batch.”
John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola, passed on a very important document with some very valuable information to someone he was close to, his best friend. In this case, Dr. Pemberton did not want this information “leaked” to anyone. No pun intended! The information was top secret.
Not so with the Book of Life (The Bible). You see, God passed on some very valuable information to all of us through His Holy Word. In it, He teaches us about himself as the Creator and Sustainer of life. He teaches us about the “fall” of mankind, our need for Him, His love and desire for us through the sacrificial death of His Son and our Savior Jesus. In it, God teaches us how to have a successful life by living according to his standard and truth. It is of greatest value, and I am happy to say that it is not “top secret.” Instead, God has made His Word available to everyone and much like John Pemberton, we should desire to pass it on to those we love. Not for the purpose of keeping it secret, but for the purpose of sharing the recipe for salvation. It’s no secret that His name is Jesus.
Pass it on!
Greg Edens
