Abide

I am not a coffee drinker per say but I sure do enjoy a cup on vacations and dates with my husband. Tea drinking the same, I would choose according to my quest at the time. Coffee a little heavier, in color and weight, tea a little lighter. But for some reason as this new year began I found it an intriguing thought to buy a tea kettle and leave it filled with water on the stove and experiment with the whole “making tea ritual" that many have come to love. And for days now I have enjoyed the pleasure of a hot cup of tea. But yesterday, I really paid attention as I poured the hot water over the tea bag and took a moment to think hard about the transformation of the water.  As the tea bag was activated by the hot water and became buoyant, the water was transformed in color and a subtle herbal scent now filled the air. A dry and seemingly uninteresting plain little neutral bag, combined with hot water became the very ingredient for a soulful beginning of my new day.  There is something about holding a warmed cup and slowing sipping  the herbal tea   and feeling it make its way down the pipes of my body, that produces within me a calm sense of peaceful recognition that God is going to handle this day and whatever is in it. The tea is gone within a few minutes but just for a bit it makes me pause as I sit quietly in my rocking chair and take time to think on God and of God, and offer thanksgiving and prayer as I set forth to navigate this day that he has given me.  

I took to the search on the internet to see what analogies have been written about tea and there were a couple of old adages like:

"when the bag is put in hot water, what’s really on the inside comes out", and “ a Christian is like a tea bag - he’s not worth much until he’s been through some hot water”, but my favorite find was found in an excerpt taken from a book by James Merritt titled: How to Impact and Influence Others. My findings in were int last chapter, chapter 10 entitled "Under the Influence” and the tea bag analogy was about being steeped in God’s word, and living under the influence of His command, example and stated truths. He compares the the transformation of the water in color and taste brought on by the steeping tea bag to us as Christians being transformed by allowing Christ to abide in us and we in Him. The longer we abide in Him and He in us the stronger His influence will be and we will slowly and methodically begin to reflect the nature and character of Christ himself through the fruits that we bear.  

The abiding element was the key.  It takes time to seep, and the longer it stands, the stronger it gets.  As it is with us, the more we allow Christ to be positioned as an active ingredient in our trials and hot water experiences the stronger we become in our faith and the more accessible our character is to His transformation.  What good purpose is a tea bag if it is not being activated?  And in order to activate it, hot water is required. If we are to be fruitful in our lives and reflect Christ who lives within us, we have to be steeped in His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,  goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control.  We have to be connected and willing to stay put as Christ uses us, grows us, and often times tests us in good times and bad. For the longer we abide in Christ, and allow Him to abide in us,  the more influential we become as his bagged agents for His kingdom. To abide in Christ means 

1) to STUDY God’s word (John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you), 

2) to DO God’s word (John 15:5  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing) 

3) to OBEY God’s word (John 15:10  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.)   

Maybe this tea analogy is a stretch, but as you know God does not only allow me to think out of a box but I truly believe he encourages me to, just as he does with you as well. You might not be a coffee drinker or a tea drinker, but we as Christians, have all been called as agents to reflect the Christ that we know and love and give reason for others to want to know him as well.  And it just seems to me that when hot water is poured upon us through our trials and difficult times, it is then that our faith must be steeped in His

power, love and abiding authority so that we can continue to be transformed through His loving grace.

This tea thing might be a flirty experience lasting only a while but the lesson will hopefully remain. There is something kind of fun about a teapot hanging out on the stove and a reminder each time I pass it that hot water can sometimes bring out the best of what lies inside a plain ole bag like me.  

Dear Lord, convict me Lord to stay steeped in your word and actively seek to not only know your word but to act upon it and obey it.  

Amen