So after an incredible osteopathic manipulation course in Chicago I wake up to Facebook letting me know all about the red cup controversy. What did I miss? What are all the crazy posts about? Red cups. Orphans. Guys wigging out in their car about the cup. I'm lost in the sea of posts. Summary: Really nothing. Most of us apparently are coming to that. Just one more post going viral and well....nothing. There are some things that should not surprise us. A world that is cutting Christmas out should not. Jesus still came to a world that was not ready for Him and had no idea He was coming to welcome Him. If prayer is being continuously cut from school and government, what shocks us about a plain red cup. It is not about cramming Jesus into the world and getting mad when it does not accept the things of Him and start to cut things of Him out. It does not mean that much to world. It is precious to the Christian because we know Him personally. We understand what He did for us. We have to be Jesus. And Lord help us everyday to be the representation we should be. To think if all the post went viral about that instead of about cups.
Symbols that are near and dear mean something to us. They define what we believe in. We set them throughout our home, our space, and life to remind us and charge us on. But they are not the thing that we believe in. They are not the being. They are not Jesus in the flesh. Reminders yes. The thing we should discuss so passionately more than Him, no. He would tell us the same if He were here. Such petty discussion over things about me when I'm right here. You talk about things about me and fight over them but I'm lost in the process. It's really throughout the Bible. Read it for yourself. Dive deep into the stories that make you flip back to the cover and say, "Wow I had to check the cover twice. Didn't know that was in there."
The symbol is in our life. Whether it's on fb or not. Disconnect from the world for a moment. That's really my purpose in writing this. I'm bothered by the excessive number of likes or shares that happen everyday. I'm an addict over it some days. There's some really good stuff out there too. Sometimes I share just so I can find it and read it again later because it hits home. I love writing whether anyone reads it or not. Writing means it mattered enough to sort it out, even if it was just for me. It really has more to do with God and myself. If it benefits anyone, awesome. If not, no worries. Writing also shows an intention. Whether it is to go deeper or fully think through thoughts over something, it is important because writing for some is the next level of where God is taking you as He teaches you. Here's my most recent eye opener.
My trip to Chicago was awesome. Got to see many old friends and work with amazing therapist and be taught by a leader in the field of manipulation. Set in a city. From the stink of the streets, to the L, to the grub that Chicago is famous for, I walked away with this. People live in the streets. Under cardboard, snatching blankets, playing music in the stations, trying to survive. They all have a story. They are people that God loves too. I've been to multiple cities and multiple subways and systems but this one stuck. They were right there along the sidewalks, the street a concrete barrier away, each with their own space saved. It hit hardest last night when I missed a connecting flight and got stuck in DFW. Inconvient and out of pocket with no bag. Just my backpack. None of my stuff. The clothes on my back. It gave me a feeling that reminded me of the people in the streets for a moment and suddenly all my out of pocket seemed minuscule. Because it was. There is nothing that I wasn't getting back by morning. Inconvenient yes. Nothing I couldn't change by walking in a store to buy what I needed or ask the hotel that was comped by the airline. Thankful for a shower and bed to sleep. Warm. Inside. Safe. All the things that some people go everyday without just surviving one more day. It broke my heart to walk by them in the streets as they slept and realize it's growing colder. People freeze in the street, alone.
So post on your page because you have one. Drink out of your red cup. I have one too. It's a cup. It's a cup that someone else might be grateful to get no matter where it is from or what is on it. Save your money. Further the kingdom. Pass it on when you can. Pray for the lost and homeless and broken. Pray that you do not become hardened. The largest cities where people walk and don't hop in their car and little world are great reminders that there is a much bigger world out there. Sure I felt the momentary discomfort but I'm so grateful for all my blessings and how the Lord blesses me with the people I know. I learned more on this trip than most simply as a whole. Rushing back to catch the train I realized that I had no ticket downtown and had no clue where to buy one. (I'm usually on top of this!) A total stranger, a dad with 2 kids, let a friend and I through. Wanted nothing in return and would not take what I offered him. He said to pass it on to someone on the street. He got it. Hard working, earned his dollar, but never forgets the one with less. Neither should I. Shame on me just because I live where driving by is easier than walking by.
No one cares about the cups. Fill your pages with anything besides the nonsense we get ourselves into over our "intellectual" discussion about cups and our other "stuff" that does not deserve a spotlight. Let your cup runneth over into the lives around you. And into anyone the Lord places even momentarily in your path. Spread the red. Let this plain red cup with a circle in the middle simply be another avenue that you share the blood of Jesus if given the chance over coffee or offering a cup of warmth on the street. Yes I'm taking the cup conversation to a level I can tolerate. Yes the beautiful crimson blood of Jesus. (Yes when the red cup is gone and we get hung on the white cup for other reasons, let it be the beautiful reminder of the how His blood washed us white as snow.) The circle nailed to the hands and feet. It just about perspective and seeing it all through the eyes of Jesus. Even if it is through a cup.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
Now looking at it that way......nothing is left off the cup. We don't need the words. Or a symbol. Or even the brand or name. Everything comes full circle whether it's the circle on the side walls to the base that holds the contents, to the top that provides and spills out if we let it. A circle. Three in one. An eternal circle that holds life. A cup in any form usually set the stage to intentionally encounter the Lord for me. Quite time, devotional, coffee with friends, offering a cup of water for the thirsty. God always provides a way to share even in the midst of completely ridiculous arguments if we will simply bring it back to Him and not our hang ups. It's not about OUR version, it's about HIM. That's the gospel.
Spread the red. Love deeply. Because He first loved us.
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