This Is How He Rolls, originally uploaded by shaycam.

Shot this over the weekend and thought it was fun. More of this series on my flickr account.

If you’ve never read or heard D.A. Carson, there’s huge resource of his sermons and message here and a bio with books he’s written here. My wife showed me this quote by him that I thought was profound:

“People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”

- D.A. Carson, For the Love of God

If you haven’t seen the new ads or container for Tropicana orange juice, then the following thoughts will make no sense to you. Be sure and view the side-by-side photo here, and the billboard ad here.

The first time I saw the new marketing ads for Tropicana I was honestly upset. The logo looked weird and no longer unique, the new container just looked like a basic store brand — like “Safeway Select,” and I missed the little red and white straw coming out of the orange. In fact, I voiced my opinion to my wife and brother-in-law in the car as we passed a billboard one day, but they didn’t necessarily agree with me. Since I work in the marketing world a bit (with product packaging and design) I figured my thoughts may have been exclusive to me and other design people, but still as a consumer it just wasn’t flying with me. As it turns out — I’m wasn’t alone. According to the New York Times, Tropicana is ditching their new product container design and implementing their old one. Why the sudden change? Apparently enough people called, emailed, faxed, sent Morse code, pony-expressed (you get the point) their outrage over the new packaging that Tropicana decided it would be best to scrap it.

I’m not trying to make more of it than should be made, but I do believe people feel a connection between a product and it’s package. There’s something familiar about it, something consistent, or maybe something special and when it changes so dramatically it actually feels a little wrong. I still remember the commercials where they would stick the red and white straw in the orange and start drinking — I think I even tried doing it as a kid (though finding a red and white straw is tough). Even though the orange juice on the inside is the same as it was before, the change in packaging makes it seem as if the product itself has been altered. Thankfully, not everything changes like orange juice and product packaging — like God. God never changes.

The Bible says God (or Jesus Christ) is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The Bible says God’s Word never changes (Psa 119:89). The Bible says that God’s love never changes (Jer 31:3). And the Bible clearly says that God never changes: “For I the LORD do not change…” (Mal 3:6). Theologians call this attribute of God His immutability. Unlike meaningless orange juice packaging, I never have to worry about the one and only God changing who He is or what He says. It’s for that reason that I can trust Him completely and trust in Him alone, because he’s the only One that is like that. This truth about God could not be more relevant than today. In the midst of great economic uncertainty, constant changing laws and lawmakers, new clothes, new cars, new technology, and even a new look for my orange juice, I can trust in a God who is always certain, whose law is always the same (the Bible), who never looks different, who never gets an upgrade, and who will always be the same for eternity.

HEAR: The New U2 Album No Line On The Horizon For Free
U2 is set to release their 12th full-length, studio album next week and they are streaming the whole thing this week on their MySpace page. I’ve only had one listen through, but I feel like it’s just another good album from U2. As soon as I’ve had some time to listen through it a few times I’ll be sure and post a full-review on evadethenoise.com.

SEE: The Crisis of Credit Visualized
Still a little fuzzy on this whole “credit crisis”? Well, this video should clear things up a bit.

DO: Buy a Pair of TOMS Shoes
I love my TOMS shoes. Not just because they are uber fashionable and very comfy, but because every time I buy a pair of TOMS shoes I know they are going to give another pair to a child in need. That’s TOMS mission and that’s something I can get behind. Bethany and I ordered our second pair this week and we’re stoked on em’. I got a pair of Charcoal Canvas Stitchouts and Bethany got Chocolate/Natural Stripes! And if you’re not in the market for yourself, I say buy your friend a pair or even consider a pair of Tiny TOMS which, let’s be honest — are the cutest little shoes “in 3 counties” (as my mom would say). Oh, and they even sent us our very own TOMS flag which we hung on our wall — it’s fun.

To see all the past “Hear, See, and Do” posts click here.