Why do we love coffee so much? Because it’s great, duh!
Now, before I get too deep into this, I want to mention that I am a coffee snob. I don’t make much money in ministry, so I don’t get to buy many nice things or splurge impulsively. But when it comes to coffee, I don’t compromise. I don’t play around. Understand that when I say “coffee,” I mean coffee. I guess I can include espresso in there too. The point is, no cream. No sugar. No mixed or blended drinks that take the coffee taste away. I drink mine black, so the coffee has to stand up on its own. It should have its own flavor profile. It should be able to sing its own song. It’s a bonus when the coffee is super strong, but I really just enjoy coffee for the taste. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite things in life. That may make me sound stupid and simple-minded, but hey, we all have our things. Right?
I bring this up because I had an epiphany the other day. I was working on putting one of the podcast episodes together. Episode 43, which is called “The Goodness of God.” I spent all week thinking about how to illustrate God’s goodness for the podcast artwork. I was thinking about the verses in the episode. I was thinking about the point and meaning of those verses. Coffee is my “thinking beverage.” When I’m trying to focus and be creative, the taste and warmth of coffee do the trick for me. So, there I am this week, sitting at my desk, staring at my computer screen with my coffee, trying to focus on God’s goodness. Then it hit me. God made coffee!
I know that’s an obvious statement. He’s the Creator of ALL things. Of course, He made coffee! Think about it, though. Did He HAVE to make coffee? I know some may argue against this, but coffee isn’t really a necessity for life. We might be a lot crankier without coffee, but we’ll live. The people around us might not make it, but we’ll survive. The point is that God made coffee for our pleasure. He knows coffee is good. He knows how soothing it can be. He knows how energizing it can be. He knows how delicious good coffee is.
He also knew how terrible the human race would be. He knew we would bring sin into the world. He knew we would all be deserving of death and condemnation in hell. He knew none of us deserved any of His favor to ANY degree. And yet, we have something as great as coffee that He gave us anyway.
As I was thinking about all of this, I started to settle in on valuing God so much more. Yes, coffee is great. How much greater is the One who created it? God knows we don’t deserve anything good from Him, but coffee is one of MANY things He’s made and provided to bring some joy into our lives. For me, coffee is what gets me going. It might be different for you. For you, it might be tacos. It might be fishing. It might be reading. As long as we’re not involved in something contrary to Him and straight-up sinful, we can all find these things in our lives that we call “good.” Things that bring us joy. Things that settle our minds. Things that calm our souls. Things that bring us together. Do we deserve those things? No, we don’t. God gives them anyway. He made those things for us to enjoy. It’s easy to enjoy good things in this life. It’s also easy to forget about the goodness of the One who created those things for us and lets us enjoy them.
Now, let’s put things in perspective. NONE of those things, individually or collectively, measure up to the pre-existence, incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and the inevitable return of Jesus Christ. None of those things measure up to God’s Word and the value of it. God loved the world to the degree that He took the form of flesh, and offered Himself as a sacrifice, so that believing in this written testimony, we can enjoy eternal life in His presence where there is fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore!
Now THAT’s good! THAT’s the goodness of God.
Yes, God created and provided many things for us to enjoy in this life. None of them are worthy of being measured up against the value of His blood that saves us from sin, death, and hell. Sitting and thinking about this with my coffee in hand, made my coffee taste better. That mindset, appreciating the true essence of God’s goodness, made the other things God gave me seem all the better. Perspective changes everything.
While I had those thoughts, I got up and grabbed my camera equipment. I wanted to capture the goodness of the coffee I was drinking but with this fresh perspective. I wanted to shoot the coffee in ways that expressed the abundance of God’s goodness. Yes, He paid the penalty of sin for us, but He has done so much more! That’s hard to believe, but that’s what the Bible teaches. Forgiveness of sins is all that we need. And wouldn’t you know it? The testimony of Revelation Chapter 22 shows that Jesus can’t wait to give His servants even more! He tells us to pay attention and watch for Him and the signs of His return because even though He will judge the world harshly, He is also bringing His rewards to distribute to His true people.
So, here you go. Some cool photos of coffee, hopefully reminding us that, when we see the beauty of the color and steam that comes out of our cups in the morning to start our days, the God who created that blessing did so in spite of us, not because of us. And yet, He desires to bless us so much more if we just turn from our sin, trust in Him through His Word, thank Him, and praise Him. Obviously, He’s worth it…
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