A Hot Cup of Tea

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 cup of hot tea is a wonderful way to begin the day!  There is nothing I like better than waking up, going into the kitchen, opening the pantry, and getting the ingredients to make hot tea for breakfast.  There is very little needed to make a cup of tea, just teabags and hot water.  Although the elements are few and simple, the result is wonderful, flavorful, and especially enjoyable.

One morning as I placed the teabags into the coffee pot and filled it with water, I realized something I hadn’t before.  Hot tea is made only when the water flows through them, and not until then.  I flipped the switch on the coffee maker and listened as it began pumping water through the filter and down into the carafe.  Slowly but surely those little drops of hot water transformed the dry tea leaves into a hot, satisfying drink for my breakfast.  As the water flowed through the bags, the water became a dark, robust, liquid full of rich flavor.  All the taste that had been locked in those dried leaves now came bursting forth.

When the process was complete, I let the tea steep for a few minutes to bring out even more of its flavor. In the pot, unseen to my eye, the water continued to pass through the bags and through the leaves, drawing out the last bit of flavor they contained.  Without the water, the tea was worthless. It remained in its bag, full of potential for making a good morning drink, but lacking the power to fulfill its mission.

The Christian life is analogous to making a cup of tea in the morning.  Unless the Holy Spirit is flowing through us, we are not living a life that is pleasing to God nor can we.  We do not have the ability to live the Christian life apart from the Holy Spirit.  All our thoughts, all our intentions, all our actions, all our efforts are useless and worthless unless the Holy Spirit flows through our lives.  Without him, we resemble the teabag out of water—useless and unfulfilled.

In John 3:21 Jesus speaks to his disciples about the role of God in our lives.  Too often we want to take the credit for things we have done.  Too often we want to blow our own whistle instead of giving God the glory. In this passage, Jesus reminds us just how important God is to us, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Here, our Lord leaves no room for doubt.  We do nothing in and of ourselves; it is God working through us that accomplishes His purposes.  What we need is the constant dripping of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives, moving through us, drawing out everything that will create a life full of worship, praise, and truth.  Unless the Holy Spirit moves and works through us, it will be impossible for us to bless the lives of others.  The dried tea leaves can never provide nourishment for anyone unless the water flows through them.

Let us take this to heart today.  We must realize that we need God at every moment in the day, in every place where we are, and for everything that we do.  It is His power and His spirit flowing through us that make our lives pleasing to Him.  When we allow God to flow and work through us, we are able to share His love, His truth, and His salvation with those around us.  Without Him, however, we can do nothing and our lives are ineffective and incomplete.

Today, when you are having a cup of tea or coffee stop and think about the process the beans and the leaves went through to make that beverage.  Then ask yourself if God is flowing through your life.  Are you providing others with spiritual refreshment?  Are your actions, thoughts, words, deeds, and motives submitted to the working of God’s Holy Spirit?  Are His love and His power flowing through your life today?  I think I hear the kettle whistling!!