Carrots, Eggs and Coffee Beans
July 25, 2010
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how awful things were for her. It was all too hard for her. Nothing was working out the way she had planned, the way she had dreamed, the way she wanted them to be. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each burner on high. Soon the pots came to boil.
In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.
She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she poured some of the coffee into a cup. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘ Tell me what you see.’
‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. Then the daughter asked, ‘Okay, mom? What’s your point?’
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
So she asked her daughter. ‘Which are you? When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Ask yourself: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a flexible heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Do you get discouraged? Or do you find courage? I think it depends on whether or not you remember who you are.
You and I are among those who know that we don’t face adversity/hot water by ourselves. We have Christ with us. We have been led by the Spirit to know and believe and trust that Jesus is our Savior. We know our problems, our failures, our shortcomings, our sins. But we also know that God took care of all that in the person of Jesus Christ. He was willing to and in fact did take our place in punishment. He carried the burden of all sin on Himself and paid for it all with that holy, innocent bitter suffering and death at Calvary. He faced more than hot water – he died for you. But it does not end there. We are gathered together here because we know that He triumphed over the grave and death. He has earned the victory and gives it to those who believe that He is who He says He is. We believe it! In fact, we want others to believe it and have what we have, so we Proclaim His Name! We know that He is with us no matter what we face.
I know you are no different than anyone else in that you have heartache, adversity, physical woes, pain and grief. However, you are different in that you have been washed in the blood of the lamb. You were cleansed by the water and the Word. You have placed your faith in Christ. That allows you to make coffee. I don’t mean the kind served a church socials, but the kind that changes adversity because of who you are in Christ.
A man named William Bathurst wrote a hymn originally entitled “The Power of Faith” that was an exposition of Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” It does not appear in LSB nor was it in LW, but it was #396 in TLH under the title “Oh, For a Faith That Will Not Shrink.”
Oh, for a faith that will not shrink Tho’ pressed by many a foe;
That will not tremble on the brink Of poverty or woe;
That will not murmur nor complain Beneath the chast’ning rod,
But in the hour of grief or pain Can lean upon its God;
A faith that shines more bright and clear When tempests rage without;
That, when in danger, knows no fear, In darkness feels no doubt;
That bears unmoved the world’s dread frown Nor heeds its scornful smile;
That sin’s wild ocean cannot drown Nor Satan’s arts beguile;
A faith that keeps the narrow way Till life’s last spark is fled
And with a pure and heavenly ray Lights up the dying bed.
Lord, give us such a faith as this; And then, whate’er may come
We’ll taste e’en now the hallowed bliss of an eternal home.
We will face adversity, but we get to face is with Jesus. Faith that is in CHRIST JESUS is what makes all the difference. It lets us be the ones who can make coffee.
