Wonka: What’s sweeter than chocolate?

As cinemagoers unwrap the new Wonka movie, Lyn Woods celebrates the sweetness of life with Jesus.

This week has seen the release of Wonka in cinemas. Starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka, it depicts the eccentric chocolatier’s rise to fame, from running a small chocolate shop to becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It shows us how he first meets an Oompa-Loompa and creates a chocolate bar that makes you fly.

Roald Dahl’s original 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has become a firm favourite for children and adults alike. Wonka is a prequel to two previous film adaptations, from 1971 and 2005. Those earlier films were somewhat dark in their interpretations of the book, but Wonka takes a more uplifting and joyous approach.

Something joyous and uplifting is just what is needed for our spirits in the lead-up to Christmas and amid such challenging times. The Bible reminds us to focus on the sweetness of God. He is the master chocolatier and each of us are his sweet creations.

In Psalm 19:8, David speaks of the Lord’s commandments as right and bringing joy to the heart. Verse 10 tells how they are more desirable than even the finest gold and that they are sweeter than honey – even honey dripping from the honeycomb.

Forget the golden tickets: a much more precious and sweet opportunity is promised to anyone when they repent and accept Jesus as their personal Saviour – life in all its fullness, full salvation and eternal life.

Psalm 34:8 invites people to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ and tells of the joy found by those who take refuge in him. This is reinforced by Psalm 119:103, which says: ‘How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey’ (New Living Translation).

Such sweetness is not confined to our sense of taste. In 2 Corinthians 2:15 and 16, Paul tells the church in Corinth that our lives are a Christlike fragrance and, to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.

And we don’t need a chocolate bar to fly. Isaiah 40:31 says: ‘Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles’ (NLT).

Brooke Ligertwood’s ‘Honey in the Rock’ says: ‘Sweetness at the mercy seat/ Now I’ve tasted, it’s not hard to see/ Only you can satisfy/… Oh, how sweet/ How sweet it is/ To trust in you, Jesus.’

This Advent, let us not only pause to delight in God’s word, but also invite others to partake in all the sweetness he has to offer.

Reflect and respond

• Listen to Brooke Ligertwood’s ‘Honey in the Rock’.
• In what ways are you currently tasting God’s sweetness and life-giving honey?
• How can your corps or centre uplift your community and spread joy this Christmas?