A Little Steeping

There’s nothing better than homemade iced tea.
Every other day I have to make another pitcher.
It is almost like the Goldilocks’ story for me…not too sweet…not too tart.
Just right!

Tea bags are added to the water after it boils.
The tea must steep for a while.
The amount of time depends on how strong you like your tea, and the type of tea you use.
After the desired time, lemon and sugar are added.
Everything is stirred together and ready to enjoy.

Whether making iced tea or a hot cup of tea, there has to be time for the tea to steep.
The steeping process amazes me.

Little tea leaves in porous bags are placed in hot water.
The water, that minutes before was clean and clear, is now brown.
The water that had no taste or smell, now tastes and smells like delicious tea.

It’s the same with food coloring.
One tiny drop of color, added to clear water, turns the water to whatever color you choose.

Bad company corrupts good character. (1 Corinthians 15:33)

How similar children are to that clear water.
God gave parents the job of training their children.
Training them His way…not any way they choose.
Training them according to God’s Word…according to God’s Ten Commandments.

God is not relative.
God is absolute.

People struggle with the concept of absolute truth.
The last time I checked…2+2 =4.
Not 5, 17, or 21…but 4.
Always 4.

We don’t question absolute truth when we help a young child with their math facts.
Yet, when it comes to behavior, we look for wiggle room!

God doesn’t have wiggle room.
God does extend grace.
There is a difference.

Grace extended when we fail to miss the mark.
Grace extended when we attempt to obey God and we sin.
Grace extended when we confess our sins and repent…turning back to God.

Wiggle room expects the boundaries to change.
Wiggle room wants to move the parameters just a bit to accommodate our preferences.
Wiggle room wants permission to sin.

Elisha was the prophet that followed Elijah.
Before Elijah was taken up to heaven, Elisha asked to inherit a double portion of his spirit.
Elijah told Elisha that he asked for a difficult thing.
However, if Elisha saw Elijah taken from him, the double portion of his spirit would be his.

As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. The company of prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” (2 Kings 2:11-15)

Elijah was a Godly influence to young Elisha.
Elijah, the mentor, taught by example and by simply living out his faithfulness to God.

From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths  came out of the town and jeered at him. “Go on up, you baldhead!” they said “Go on up, you baldhead!” He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. (2 Kings 2:23-25)

The “youths” described here were actually young men.
This was more than a group…it was really a gang.
When the bears came out of the woods, many of the gang members were injured, not killed.

He who walk with the wise grows wise; but a companion of fools suffers harm.
(Proverbs 13:20)

God gave parents the responsibility of training their children.
Parents have discernment that their children cannot possibly possess.
God’s Wisdom, coupled with their own life experience, gives parents clarity.

Bad behavior is like a contagion.
Parents want their children far away from anything they can “catch” from someone else.

Much like the tea bag steeping in water after it boils…or the drop of food coloring added to a glass of clear water…bad character influences children.
What was once clear, takes on the color of what was added to it.

Wouldn’t it be nice if clear water turned the food coloring clear?
Imagine boiling water steeping the tea back into the bag rather than the reverse.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
(Proverbs 22:6)

Children need to be steeped in God’s Word, so that His flavor will be evident in their lives.
Spend time steeping in God’s Word yourself.
Freshly brewed and ready to be poured out for Him.

 

 

 

One response to “A Little Steeping”

1. How true! And I need my iced tea ‘just right’ too!

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