CARROT EGG or a CUP of COFFEE?

Rob Briggs – Chaplain, Logan United Christian Soccer Club 10-07-2021

A CARROT, an EGG or a CUP of COFFEE ?

In our last chat I asked you the question, ‘Do You Have a Long Nose’? And we discussed how anger causes you to screw up your face making your nose appear shorter. We discovered how God is slow to anger and therefore is described as having a long nose. Well this time I am asking you another question. Are you like a Carrot, an Egg or a Cup of Coffee? I guess by now you are wondering where this is all going. Well let’s explore what the answer might be.

 

I am going to put each one of these items through a very difficult adversity and analyse how they deal with it. So let’s go into the kitchen, and just for the sake of the story imagine you are there with me. Watch as I put the carrot into a saucepan of water and place it on the hot plate and turn up the heat.

 

 

Now I do the same for the egg in a separate saucepan.

 

 

 

 

Then I put a couple of tea spoons of coffee grounds into another pan of water.

 

 

 

Now let us leave them for about 20 minutes or so on high as they come to the boil.

 

After 20 minutes I turn off the heat, I pick out the carrot and place it into a bowl. I do the same with the egg. And now I ladle the coffee out into a cup. From your life experience can you tell me what the carrot’s condition is like?

Of course after boiling for 20 minutes what was once hard and crispy has become soft and mushy, right? The egg is very different what was liquid protected by the shell is now hard and firm within. The coffee, well smell that aroma, what is better on these cold mornings than the smell of a good hot cup of coffee? The short answer to that one, for a coffee  connoisseur, is drinking it I suppose.

 

Anyway let us consider this, each item went through the exact same adversity, the boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot changed from being strong and hard to weak and mushy. The egg, fragile in its outer shell became hard and firm inside.

 

The coffee on the other hand changed the water. It converted its environment into something completely different, giving off a delicious aroma.

 

Now, we come back to the original question, which one are you when adversity tries to knock you down? Are you a carrot? Do you wilt and lose your strength when the unthinkable happens, sickness or a family tragedy?

 

Or maybe you are like an egg, starting off soft and vulnerable inside a thin outer shell? When you are dealt a blow like financial hardship or have a relationship that falls apart, does your outer shell still look the same but you become solid inside with a stiff spirit, and a hardened heart.

 

Wouldn’t it be better to be like a cup of coffee that changes it’s surroundings releasing its fragrance and flavour. Harnessing the power of the adversity and turning it into a positive benefit.

 

 

What does the scripture tell us about dealing with adversity? We can get inspiration as we read in Ephesians 6:16-18

 

Above all, take the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

 

I pray you are like, or can become like, that cup of coffee, putting on that Shield of Faith and changing your environment through prayer. Overcoming the adversities of life and moving forward with a positive attitude.

 

May God bless you all.

Rob (Bob) Briggs  LUCSC Chaplain

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