A Bottomless Cup of Coffee

I

 arrived in Fort Worth in 1997.  Several weeks after beginning seminary and getting situated, a few of my new friends and I began exploring our new city, discovering the many things it offered in terms of restaurants, entertainment, and shopping.  One evening, we decided to go downtown for a leisurely stroll and a visit to a coffee shop.  We selected a shop in the center of town that had several tables outside.  We went in, ordered our coffee, paid our bill, went outside, and had a wonderful time talking and people watching.  We enjoyed ourselves so much, that we began doing this on a regular basis, usually on Thursday evenings.

Texans love their coffee, and, being firm believers that one should do as the Romans when in Rome, we followed suit.  Soon, however, our visits to the coffee shop began to cost a little more than was in the budget.  We enjoyed the fellowship, we enjoyed the coffee, but we didn't enjoy straining our budgets to the limit.  So, one afternoon, one of the guys told us about a different coffee shop not far from downtown.  Not only was it larger, having plenty of space on the inside, there was also ample space outside to sit, relax, and visit.  Moreover, the management didn’t rush its customers; but encouraged them to stay as long as they wanted.  They even provided games, a reading room, and musical entertainment on the weekends.  Plus, their hours were more generous, closing later than their competitor.

We decided to visit this little place to see for ourselves.  Sure enough, everything we heard was true.  The atmosphere was inviting, the coffee was superb, the desserts they offered were wonderful (with true "Texas-sized" portions), and the employees were great.  But what really impressed us the most was the fact that you could pay $1 and get a bottomless cup of coffee.  For one price, you could have all the coffee you could drink. Needless to say, we were hooked and adopted this place as our very own.  The management further assured customer loyalty by encouraging its clients to bring their favorite coffee mugs and leave them.  They provided a rack for this purpose so when you entered, you simply took your mug off the shelf, paid $1, and settled in for an evening of relaxation and conversation.

The work of Jesus Christ resembles very closely our attempt to find a coffee shop.  Now, please bear with me here. I am not trivializing the work of Christ on the cross.  Before the coming of Christ, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat.  He did this to cover the sins of the people.  However, this sacrifice was only good for a year, forcing the high priest to perform this ritual repeatedly.  Throughout the year, the people performed other sacrifices for various aspects of their lives.  Soon, they came to understand just how expensive sin was.  The price for sin was beyond their means and no matter how often they sacrificed, each time they needed to approach God, they had to pay again by offering a new sacrifice.

When Jesus came, he did away with the sacrificial system.  By taking upon himself the cost of sin, he paid once and only once.  The writer of Hebrews stresses this important point by writing,"Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12).  Now, there was direct access to God, Now, people could come to God without having to "pay" repeatedly.  The sacrifice of Jesus Christ invited all mankind to come to God without the threat of constantly paying and without the worry of overstaying their welcome.  Instead, they found rest, peace, comfort, joy, and an endless supply of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love.  The relationship and fellowship they longed for was now possible.  All they needed to do was enter into the new covenant with God by accepting his son, Jesus Christ.

I continued to visit this coffee shop during my remaining years at the seminary.  Although my visits became less frequent due to a heavy schedule, each time I visited, I found the same system in place.  For one price, I had all the coffee and fellowship I wanted.  Each time, I was reminded, in a very tangible way, of the price Jesus paid for my sin.  All the promises of God, all his love, all his mercy, all his grace, and all his provision is mine because Jesus paid the price, once and only once, for sin.  Because of his sacrifice, I have direct access and no longer have to try and buy my way to God.  NO! For one price, I get it all.  What a great deal!  So, are you still paying for your coffee one cup at a time?  Wouldn't you rather have full and open access to God by asking Christ into your life? He is waiting for you to do that today!  The coffee shop is open, come on in!!