10/19/2018
Do you spread the love of God? Do you give cups of living water to the thirsty each day, or do you worry about their dirty hands touching your polished chalice? It is so easy to turn a blind eye to the ragged, and to detest the smell of the unclean, but these are the very souls that our Lord came to feed, clothe, make clean, and to let drink from His cup. Where were you when you first lifted it to your mouth? Did you think yourself clean and your hands without blame? Did you smell of righteousness?
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV
Before I met Jesus, I mean really met Jesus, I looked in the mirror each day and liked what I saw. Against the backdrop of the world I looked pretty good, and yet I was smeared with sin, and stunk of unrighteousness. Oh, I went to church, I covered myself with the cologne of righteousness, but it laid on my skin, and never changed what was underneath. Are you wearing the perfumed scent of righteousness today?
“"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:1 ESV
Then I met Jesus, and let Him come into me. I felt the warmth of His breath as He breathed, and the Holy Spirit came in to join Him... suddenly I became something much more than the reflection I had been looking at, and the cologne was washed away. I thought about the blood that dripped as sweat from Jesus as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and wondered how often that He had done that before; I realized that this was his grace... this was God’s Love.
“And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Luke 22:43-44 ESV
I look at the sinners around me now, and I see myself... I look at the oily fingerprints on the once shining cup of grace, and realize that they are the Anointing oil of Christ. I place my lips to the rim of the cup and drink from where the leper’s of life have quenched their thirst; knowing exactly where it has been, and then extend this cup to the lost and downtrodden who stand before me. How is it that we hold this cup to our breast and not extend it? How is it that we stand behind the Lord’s Table and judge who eats and drinks?
“Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."”
John 12:31-32 ESV
Our faith is for all... over and over again we hear His voice as He cries out “ALL”, and then we draw back the cup. We judge when it is not our place to do so... we are told to hold the cup out so that ALL can drink, and yet we feel we must say that this one is worthy of drink and this one is not. This one can take the body of Christ, and this one may not.
“And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Mark 16:15-16 ESV
Look in the mirror again today. Look past you piety... who do you see? Then drink again, take the body of Christ into your mouth once more, and then extend His grace to the world... to ALL who would come. Extend your hands filled with wine, bread, and living water to the poor, the unclean who need lifting up, and to those who wear their righteousness like cologne on their skin. Take a drink from the cup knowing full well the lips that have graced it.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, and the cup from which He drank. Thank you Lord for extending the Cup of His blood to me in remembrance of Him, and breaking the bread of a His body that I might eating it. Help me Father to see my unworthiness, and to withhold my selfish judgement from those around me. Judgement is yours Merciful Father, and how is it that I, a sinner myself, feel that I can judge sinners? Never let me lose sight of who I am, and that your son came to save me... not because I was righteous, or holy, but because I was sick with sin. Help me Father of all Grace to take this cup in my filthy hands and know that you have extended it to me that I might be cleansed, but not lifted above those who are yet to drink. I pray that your Holy Spirit places me before the needy, and gives me living water to quench their thirst. Help me to listen to you as I hold out the chalice, and drink along with the rest from its anointed rim. Praised be your name Father, for you have loved me at my worst, and saved me from it. You have pointed to the leper’s of this world and said “There but for my grace are you! Go! Give them drink!” Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, and the God of grace and forgiveness to ALL sinners.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:14 ESV
Rich Forbes