Saturday night, Easter Eve, I had my first cup of black coffee. It was an accident.
I was sitting outside with a few friends from BCS, and we were circled around a merciless campfire. It was one of those nights when to be warm enough, I had come dangerously near to the heat. However, because it had been burning for awhile and the wind had been throwing around the ashes, it was impossible to get warm enough without getting my eyes stung or my clothes ash-ridden.
My solution for my coldness? Some hot coffee.
It did not occur to me that there was neither any cream or sugar outside; everyone else that had coffee was drinking it as black as the night sky. So, our host poured me a cup, and handed it to me (as a reasonable human being would do). I stared at my mug, somewhat dumbfounded, because when I asked for coffee, for some reason, I did not expect to drink it black.
Anyway, I told everyone that I had never had a cup of black coffee before. Being jeered and laughed at, I realized that I would need to eventually have a sip of this strange liquid. So I did.
What happened that day changed my life. It was above averagely bitter. Strangely bitter. It was also above averagely good. Strangely good.
I thought to myself, "Huh. Life's kinda like that, isn't it."
Life is like that. Life is like black coffee. Life with Jesus is not easy. Life with a conscience is not easy. Living a life convicted of sin is never easy.
But it is good. It is really good; or in the words of Nacho (albeit mildly sarcastic),
In honesty, it will probably be bitter. Life is often bitter. But if that bitterness is accompanied with the understanding that God is actually making you look more like Jesus in the process (Romans 8), such an understanding should make it all the more easier to see and savor the goodness of the black coffee God gives you to drink.
But looking back at life in all honesty, the coffee we drink and think is so unbearably bitter is a lot closer to a blonde roast than anything. Maybe a blonde-medium roast. It could be much more harsh.
He is our hope. And He is good.
.DSN.
My solution for my coldness? Some hot coffee.
It did not occur to me that there was neither any cream or sugar outside; everyone else that had coffee was drinking it as black as the night sky. So, our host poured me a cup, and handed it to me (as a reasonable human being would do). I stared at my mug, somewhat dumbfounded, because when I asked for coffee, for some reason, I did not expect to drink it black.
Anyway, I told everyone that I had never had a cup of black coffee before. Being jeered and laughed at, I realized that I would need to eventually have a sip of this strange liquid. So I did.
What happened that day changed my life. It was above averagely bitter. Strangely bitter. It was also above averagely good. Strangely good.
I thought to myself, "Huh. Life's kinda like that, isn't it."
Life is like that. Life is like black coffee. Life with Jesus is not easy. Life with a conscience is not easy. Living a life convicted of sin is never easy.
But it is good. It is really good; or in the words of Nacho (albeit mildly sarcastic),
...My life is good! Really good! I get to wake up every morning, at 5AM, and make some soup! It's the best. I love it.Nacho is right. My life is the best. I do love it; if life is cup of bitter black coffee, it serves the purpose of propelling us through the day to get to the Great Dessert (heaven)! Just like with the night at the campfire, a life of black coffee is not the first thing I would naturally choose, but if it had not been sovereignly put in my path, I would not have been and currently be exploded with the amazing goodness of the thing!
In honesty, it will probably be bitter. Life is often bitter. But if that bitterness is accompanied with the understanding that God is actually making you look more like Jesus in the process (Romans 8), such an understanding should make it all the more easier to see and savor the goodness of the black coffee God gives you to drink.
But looking back at life in all honesty, the coffee we drink and think is so unbearably bitter is a lot closer to a blonde roast than anything. Maybe a blonde-medium roast. It could be much more harsh.
He is our hope. And He is good.
.DSN.
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