What does Christianity offer?

One of the problems with combining marketing and Christianity or Church in the same sentence is that it conveys something to be acquired. Markets have products; they exist for the purpose of swapping goods. If Christianity is 'marketed' it means that it has something to offer. We are familiar with the obvious examples of Christianity offering something: Televangelists, name-it-and-claim it theology, etc. But it also takes more subtle forms. I watched Ted Haggard, President of the NAE, say that he tells the people who come to his church that if they will put into practice the biblical principles that he teaches them, they will be better off a year from today than they are right now. (That is almost verbatim.) Christianity promises a better life--just give it a year.

The problem is that that's false. Does following a Crucified Messiah gaurantee a better life in just twelve months? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It's the wrong ball park; Christianity doesn't offer anything but the story that God is at work in the world by his Spirit and that you can be part of that story now. What does Christianity offer? Technically nothing. God gives himself in his Son and Spirit and Christianity is the construct that does its best to make sense of that gift. God offers himself.

Or, perhaps I can put this in terms familiar with St John the Divine in Revelation. To the conqueror, Jesus promises to give the morning star (Rev. 2.28). And who is the bright Morning Star? Jesus himself (Rev. 22:16).