Coffee and Christ

How in the world did I come up with this idea: unifying coffee with Christ? Honestly? I am led by the Spirit in this matter, so I don’t feel right taking credit here. But let me try to give you some thoughts about the topic at hand and why I think they might go well together.  First, we always look to God’s Word for guidance, so that’s what I’ll do now. We read in Revelation 3:20 that Jesus announces to those listening that He is standing at the door and knocking, and that if anyone hears Him and opens the door, He will come and dine with that one, and that one will dine with Him. Obviously Jesus is talking about the door to one’s heart, and the invitation is one of intimacy. This is the relationship Jesus wants to have with you today. Preaching, praise and worship all have a place as good and necessary works of the Body of Christ, but when was the last time you sat down to dine with Jesus? Has it been some time ago? Has it been ever? Friend, He wants to come and sit down with you and know you as a man or woman. As God, He knows you inside and out. He knows the spin of every atomic element in your body and the deepest thoughts of your innermost being, thoughts you may scarcely even know you have, but it is as a man, the Son of God and Man, that He wants to know you today. God has given us the sacred intimacy of dining with someone for a purpose, and the picture Jesus draws for us in Revelation is meant to tell you just how He really feels about His Children. And there’s a mutual Promise inherent in the words He speaks: if you invite Him to supper today, He will invite you to supper in the Kingdom, for He says clearly that not only will He dine with you, but you also will dine with Him. (To the one who claims to follow Him: You eat three times a day. Are you spending time with Him each and every day, throughout the day? Is He an intimate part of your every morning, noon, and night? Do you do well? How shall He view you in that day? Consider your way!)

Fine, but why this website? Why here? We read also in Luke 14:12 how Jesus tells us that when we give a dinner or a supper, we ought not invite those we know because they might return the favor and then we’d be repaid. Rather, He tells us to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And so I am here for you. How is this a meal? You know, there is more to ingest than mere bread and meat. Jesus spoke of laboring for food that endures to life everlasting, the Fruit of the Spirit. Likewise, there is more to drink than cups can ever hold. But what about inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind? Are all the poor those who have little money? Are all those who cannot see physically blind? Likewise, are those who do not walk erect before the Lord not as much in need of healing as those who cannot walk at all? I invite you in. Here you may find rest. Here you may find peace. Here you may find guidance to the pharmacy of the Great Physician. I cannot help all, but I come as one called to help those who would receive the aid that I can offer.

Okay, but coffee? Really? Sure, and why not? God has given us coffee surely to give us pleasure. Coffee was made for man, and it glorifies God. It also teaches us deep truths about things long forgotten. How can that be? The secret greater than any other is this: all stories are about Jesus. If you don’t know this, you haven’t understood just how awesome God is. How can this be so? We are made in the Image of God. We are reflections and echoes. The Word is the Light. We live and breathe and move and have our being in Him. We act as we do because we are corrupted reflections of Truth and distorted echoes of Life; therefore, when we tell stories, we are telling fragments of the truth colored and distorted through the brokenness of our lives. The stories in the Bible happen to be true; therefore, they provide the clearest reflections and echoes of Christ. Therefore, when we speak about the hero, we are really talking about Jesus. When we speak about the staff, we are really speaking about the cross. It is in part for this reason that Jesus is the branch that made the bitter waters sweet at Marah. When we gather here for coffee and speak of Christ, He is literally making the bitter waters sweet for us. Isn’t our God awesome?