Any time I am around the stuff, I wonder how people can drink beer. I have tasted it a few times and it always seems to be the juice of decomposed grain to me. I don’t get it. It occurred to me that I used to feel that way about coffee. Coffee and beer, what a combination. Both must be acquired tastes.
Coffee is very bitter when you are an new drinker. When I started, I drank it to keep awake before finals. You remember the all-nighters because you hadn’t studied. I loaded it down with cream and sugar. I kept drinking it because they would refill my cup. If they had refilled other soft drinks like they do now I might never have become addicted.
As I got older and more concerned about calories I first left out the sugar and then the cream. I am now to the point where I enjoy and anticipate my morning coffee but even now, the first sip in the morning can be a shock.
As my mind roamed I got to thinking about the difference between regular and decaffeinated coffee. Decaf can taste good but for some reason I tend to not finish it. There is something in the caffeine that matches up with a need or pull in my body. Without thinking I drink more of the high octane. When I am drinking coffee on the way to work, if it is decaf I usually have half a cup left when I arrive. If it is regular it us usually finished.
My mind continued to roam and turned to spiritual applications. I got to thinking about how this is an illustration of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives and about how we can know we are saved. Usually it is subtle. It may not always be an overwhelming “Wow” like a really puckery Key Lime pastry but a subtle something that fills in the gaps. I may not be able to point at a bunch of obvious moments but when I get to the end of the day I know it is different.
Some may be able to instantly tell the difference between regular and decaf. Some are more sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit. Whether you feel every bump in the road the butter still gets churned. I guess that is a different metaphor.
Drink deep and enjoy.
homo unius libri
When I was a kid, I tasted beer and didn't care for it. When I was a teenager, I drank it some because I wasn't supposed to and liked to see where my "older than is" appearance would let me slide by. As a young man, I actually enjoyed it (I never got drunk, incidentally). As an old man, I still like it, but I only drink it when the mood strikes me, which is only every few years. Even then, a half can usually satisfies my tastebuds. I Don't THINK the Lord had a hand in it; but who's to say?
ReplyDeleteThis is just another example of how our taste bugs die off as we get older. My journey with coffee went down the same route.
DeleteGrace and Peace