One of the privileges of my role as a Methodist Minister is the opportunity to meet all sorts of people. I often find myself really interested when people tell me about their lives. I've said to many people over the years, "you ought to write your memoirs." Disappointingly, I've rarely come across anyone who responds in positively to that encouragement. Sadly, so many people think that their lives and experiences aren't worth much. If only they realised that every life is precious.
Earlier today I took a funeral service at the local crematorium. As I waited for the funeral party to arrive, I looked at the printed list of the names of those whose funeral service would take place today, and was interested to note that it was to be James Bond's funeral later in the day! No doubt that gentleman got plenty of ribbing over the years.
The gentleman whose service I took, served on the forces during WWII. This included a period in the Far East. When I met with the family in preparation for the funeral service, they told me that while he was in the Far East, food supplies were in fairly short supply. Apart, that is, for bananas, which grew in plenty in the area. This meant, of course, that the main diet for the gentleman and his colleagues was bananas. It was through that experience that he grew to hate the taste and even the smell of the fruit, and he never ate another banana following his discharge!
As I was driving home after the funeral service, into my mind came a line from the well know hymn, "Lead us heavenly Father, lead us." In the third verse of the hymn, the hymn-writer writes about the blessings which are experienced through God's Holy Spirit, including "heavenly joy" and "love." Then comes this line: "pleasure that can never cloy." A number of times over the years, I have asked congregations, after we have sung the hymn, whether they know what the word "cloy" means. Very rarely do I get the correct answer!
Basically, cloy relates to something becoming uninteresting or distasteful through overabundance. I guess that the gentleman whose funeral service I took today really enjoyed bananas when he was first given them. But after he had been forced to eat them day after day, week after week etc., they not only lost their attraction for him but became something he hated. Whenever we have too much of something, even if it's something we really like, it can lose its attraction.
The point that hymn-writer is making is that the joy and pleasure which we find in Jesus can never 'cloy.' The more we get to know him, the more we taste of the joy, grace and love we find in him, the greater our hunger for him. We can never get too much of Jesus!
So here's a little challenge for you. Next time you have a conversation with someone, try and use the word cloy and see what their reaction is - maybe we can start a trend?
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