Right after the invention of the wheel, the next big thing might be the Red Solo Cup. Just kidding, but it is interesting how reliant we have become on disposal things. It’s easier to use paper plates and expendable items than retain longer lasting articles that need attention. Cardboard, plastics, paper products, and a host of other items have lessened the time of cleanup and expanded the time of leisure. Almost everything today has a limited lifespan. This was not so a few decades ago. Things were kept; cleaned and reused over and over again. Care was taken to maintain an item for the sake of money and decency. Maintenance was a built-in expectation for the duration of the things that had value.
Society as a whole moved away from that kind of care. Today we rush through our day to get to the next thing on our busy schedule. Relationships of every kind are treated much the same way as paper plates. Most relationships must survive on minimal maintenance so that we can move to some pressing thing next in line. That’s why social media is so appealing. It takes so little time to develop these shallow relationships.
Predictably, and probably inevitably, this type of rapid and abstract response toward things and people has made its way into our walk with God. Prayer, Bible reading, and fasting never come in paper or plastic. To be engaged with any of these three takes concentration and expense. Hours are demanded instead of seconds; days instead of moments. Let’s face it: Jesus takes time to maintain. He’s more like porcelain than paper. Seeking Him with your heart and soul cannot be done through Twitter. And finding Him?… goodness, sometimes He hides Himself in a maze that demands months of time. Jesus is not that kind of disposable deity. He takes time and lots of it. David said, “early will I seek thee.” Maybe David’s statement was more pragmatic than ideological or emotional. Maybe David knew that it might take all day so he started out early. The Lord spoke a parable of a bridegroom who was long in coming. Ten virgins waited and waited; half lost concentration and ran out of oil in the days that followed. The lesson might include the fact that anyone who wishes to join with Christ will have to devote an enormous amount of time and endurance. While its not palatable to our American quick-fix mentality, following and finding Jesus is a life-effort not a momentary junket.
I submit to you also that Jesus takes up space. His presence consumes whatever place He occupies. He can’t be tucked away or broken down for convenience or minimal use. The only way that He exists in our lives is to be front and center: taking up time and energy of the believer. He’s not a single-use Savior. He demands attention and contemplation. His words are provoking to the point of challenging our mindsets and attitudes. Jesus doesn’t want a Sunday affair. He asks for a daily devotion, or as Joshua wrote, “meditating day and night on His law.” Even walking into His house takes praise and thanksgiving. I know that this is not necessarily congruent with our modern approach to life, but the fact of the matter is that in order to have Him we must keep Him and care for Him. He is, after all, the most important part of life because He is Life. In conclusion, I would offer that to have Him demands constancy, commitment, and adherence; none of which come in the form of a Red Solo Cup. Jesus must be our All in all. He must be the Lord of all, not the Lord of some. His purpose must be our mission and His Word must be our bread. He is the Sun that our lives and living must revolve around.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole
One response to “Red Cup”
Amen Pastor Harpole