[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during September 2020]
In 1902 John Masefield published his poem “Cargoes”[1] in which he describes three types of trading ships and the cargoes that they carried. It depicts examples from three eras of maritime trade; those of the time of Solomon, the Spanish conquest of south America and the British industrial revolution. The cargoes range from the exotic such as ivory and peacocks to every-day essentials such as iron and coal, whilst the alliterations of a salt-stained smoke stack and cheap tin trays are a challenge to those of us whose teeth are not as firmly fixed as God intended. By the way, peacocks do have a practical function – their raucous call is used to scare other birds away from freshly planted crops.
In Revelation chapter 18 we have a more extensive list of cargoes but the context reminds us that these items are worth nothing more than ships’ ballast if we focus on them and turn away from God. Our true value is not measured by what we have, instead we should look at what we are and what we become through His grace.
In his second letter[2] to his protégé Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use” whilst in his first letter[3] to the Corinthians he talks about the differing functions of parts of the human body as an illustration of both the unity and the diversity within the Church.
So it is with the Church of today; if we were all preachers who would listen? We need those who can strut their stuff but we also need those who are willing to load the trays that carry the drinks that lubricate the throats of those who lead the singing that encourages the worshippers who support those who strut their stuff.
One version of a hymn by George Herbert reads:
Teach me, my God and King, in all things Thee to see;
and what I do in anything, to do it as for Thee.
A servant with this clause makes drudgery divine;
who sweeps a room, as for thy laws, makes that and the action fine.
Returning to our cargoes, it is the trade in these every-day items that creates the wealth that allows us to enjoy the exotic. It is the every-day activities of the Church members that make it prosper. You may feel as dull as iron but you are a jewel in God’s sight.
[1] The text of the poem is available online at several sites, including Cargoes, by John Masefield
[2] 2 Timothy ch 2 v2
[3] 1 Corinthians ch 12 v23
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
