doing a little or a latte for jesus
IT’S NOT THE SIZE OF THE CUP BUT THE CONTENTS THAT POUR OUT
Imagine pulling into your coffee stand and ordering your favorite beverage. You’re a regular, and recognize the Barista is a little off today, the conversation seeming cold and abrupt. As she prepares your drink it appears she’s just throwing it together, not mindful of what’s going into the cup, but you trust the beverage will satisfy. It always does. You receive your drink and pull away, taking that first sip you’ve been anticipating all morning. Your mouth filled with bitterness which seeps down into your heart as resentment. You just paid hard-earned money and ended up disgusted and disappointed.
We all have bad days. In our walk with Jesus, we choose to fill up on feeling or be permeated by His presence. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus warns that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If someone or something other than God’s Word is filling your cup, then whether you do a little or a latte for Him, the flavor will be foul and the impact ineffective.
FILLING UP ON FEELINGS
When the weariness of overwhelm overtakes us, it’s easy to get tripped up, scrambling for “balance” looking to “do things” that will ease our hurts, calm our fears, and settle our minds. We can even try serving others to make ourselves feel better. And while it sounds good, the motivation is all wrong.
The Apostle Paul admonishes believers in Galatians 5:13:
“For you were called to freedom, brothers” [and sisters]. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
The freedom Jesus has given us is freedom from the power and penalty of sin, but remember, grace isn’t an excuse, it’s an extension of God’s mercy. Jesus died so He could overpower our feelings and empower our doings with His love.
God gives us opportunities each day to serve and glorify Him if we choose to step out of the way. Often these ways are little. Reaching out to that person that just popped into your mind, just to say hi, nothing heavier. Navigating through a zipper merge on the freeway, letting in that extra car who seems in such a hurry, while checking your own heart in the process. Showing kindness to the one who is oozing with offense or even taking the extra time, despite your own rush, to identify with the underlying stress your Barista’s feeling and encouraging her with hope.
SOUL-SLURPING SERVICE
We pour ourselves into serving the Lord, only we’re really serving in our own strength, seeking that sense of accomplishment or the accolades of others. We do more and more, stacking up service like the tower of Babel. Power and position wrap us up and we’re quickly ensnared in obligation rather than enveloped in joyful obedience.
The Apostle Paul has some things to say about this, too. In Colossians 3:22 he discusses serving in the context of our earthly authorities and roles but alludes to keeping our eyes turned toward Jesus. In verses 22-24 he says this:
“Obey…not by way of eye-service” [and I will add lip-service] “as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
In Romans 12:1 Paul also reminds us that:
“By the mercies of God present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Working hard, “giving it all” is not the issue. It’s the ingredients in your cup. The quality, not quantity of its contents. Are you adding things to your cup that appeal to you or are you appealing to God’s mercies, discovering His will and His way as you seek and submit to Him, knowing and trusting He knows how best He can be glorified through you?
FILLING YOUR CUP
Use quality ingredients.
The truth found in God’s word puts resentment to shame and stirs up hope with the Spirit’s sweetness as you meditate on who He is.
Inhale the aroma.
Pause. Pray. Prayer is the fragrance of the throne room of heaven. Petition your Father for the ways He want you to pour out today.
Sip don’t gulp.
Savor the flavor. Every experience. The heartache, the hurt, the healing, and the hope. Be ready to pour out as measured by the Spirit within you.
STIRRING IT UP
What we say and do influences; it has an impact. How much we bring impresses man. What we bring impacts the Kingdom of God. When our hearts are focused on how we feel, we lose sight of the substance that fills them. Whether it’s a little or a latte, what flavor do you leave lingering?
