I’ve been drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee the past few weeks.
My commitments to work, family, and friends keep piling up. Blog posts don’t just magically appear. There are Arrested Development episodes to be watched. Sleep takes a backseat. Coffee becomes a fine friend.
If you had told me coffee would be my life preserver through this time a few years ago, I would have done a spit take of whatever non-coffee beverage I would have been drinking at the time.
For the first 20 or so years of my life I despised coffee. Hated the taste of it. Hated the idea of it. My parents were never java drinkers so it was never prevalent in my house.
One morning when I was in elementary school I asked if my mom could would make me a cup of coffee. I’d heard so much about these magical beans and the powerful drink they produced.
She made me a cup of strong black coffee. One sip was all I needed to know I never wanted to so much as smell coffee again.
Growing up I took a great deal of pride in not drinking coffee. Everyone in school was a coffee drinker; this was my way of rebellion, my chance to be a hipster non-conformist.
In my 20s though something began to change. Maybe it was a constant intake of Peppermint Hot Chocolates from Starbucks. Maybe it was an increased workload at my job. I can’t pinpoint exactly what broke me down into a coffee drinker.
One day it just happened. Someone at a meeting handed me a cup with cream and sugar and I couldn’t believe how delicious this drink was. I was hooked.
This was a bigger life moment for me than you might imagine. No longer was I “The Guy Who Doesn’t Drink Coffee”. Now I was just “The Guy Who Drinks Coffee Like Everyone Else In The World”. It was hard at first to come to grips with not having such a distinct personality trait anymore.
There’s a danger in defining yourself by your drinking habits. Any trait of this world you use to define yourself is subject to change.
What happens when you no longer represent that trait? What happens when you used to define yourself by your job and you get fired? What happens you used to define yourself by a relationship which falls apart?
The definition of you who are shifts. The foundation of your world begins to crumble.
This is why your definition must come from God and God alone. Only He is timeless; only His definition of you will last your entire lifetime.
Thankfully God’s definition is a good one. And it’s pretty easy to memorize.
In Mark 1 Jesus was baptized and learned of His definition. As He rose from the water the voice of God broke out of the heavens and announced to the world exactly who Jesus was:
You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.
As believers we are one with the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit is one with Christ, we too can claim the definition of God’s Beloved Child.
You are more than a Coffee Drinker. You are more than a Runner. You are more than an Artist. You are more than a Student. You are more than a Cashier.
You are God’s beloved child. With you He is well pleased.
Let His words write your profile. Let His voice be more refreshing than a good cup of joe. Let God redefine you each morning.
What are some ways you’ve defined yourself in the past? How does your calling as God’s beloved change your definition?
