Just a cup of cold water...

...In an attempt to develop further as a christian leader, I am posting sermons I have prepared for my studies or for ministry opportunities. Please feel free to comment to add helpful hints so I can develop. ....

Just a cup of cold water

Matthew 10:40-42

⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

When I first joined the small group at my new church, the host would offer drinks on arrival and I would always turn it down.  There was something about not being heaps comfortable because I was new and just didn’t want to be a hassle by asking.  The host was persistent in his hospitality though. Can I get you a hot drink, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, chai, or a maybe soft drink, juice, cordial?... No, I’m fine thanks… Can I at least get you a glass of water?...  Can anyone really turn down a glass of water? I’m sure you all have had people like me in your homes at one point. They are super annoying, even your most simplest offer for refreshments are turned down. 

So Jesus is in the process of teaching his disciples to go out and proclaim the good news.  He is giving them the low down of the highs and lows of what they will face as they go.  Jesus warns them that they will be faced with the same hostility as Jesus faced.  We come to this part of the passage and it seems to be a message about who the people they will share the good news with are rather than how to go about their task.

Anyone who welcomes or receives these disciples, a prophet or a righteous man will receive God, they will receive a reward.   You see the people that welcome these people aren’t just welcoming a stranger into their homes, it’s not about how good their hospitality is, it’s about these people welcoming Jesus. Its understanding that when we welcome, we are welcoming Jesus. 

In 2015 I went to Kiribati (a series of small pacific islands) with a bunch of High schoolers on a church partnership trip.  Much of the team got sick while there and although our pacific island friends didn’t have a lot to offer to help those feeling sick get better because had no medicines.  But they had water and they had pandanas fans.  They would simply sit with a sick person and fan them and give them water.  It didn’t matter who they were or how important they were, The Vice President spend some time fanning our youngest team member for a while simply because she had a fan and this girl needed the breeze. 

Everyone has something they can provide.  The Kiribati people couldn’t offer complicated medical advice, but they could offer a cup of water and a fan for some breeze. 

Have you ever felt like you had nothing to offer? Like all you had was small and insignificant?

This passage isn’t asking us to welcome people with extravagant parties and gifts, it is asking us to simply welcome, and to offer a cup of cold water. 

Just a cup of cold water…

In the story of the woman at the well, the woman only had water to give, she wasn’t a well-respected woman, she didn’t have a lot to offer but Jesus came to her and asked her for a drink.  In the action of her giving Jesus water, she was using the simple things she had and welcoming Jesus in for a conversation and as part of her life.

What is the cup of cold water in your life? What have you got that you can offer when you feel like you have nothing else? What can you give?

Maybe the cup of cold water you have to offer is literally water, or maybe it’s a smile and a hand shake. Maybe your cup of cold water is inviting someone to sit next to you on the bus, in the food court, in the lunch room or even in church? When you feel like you have nothing of significance to offer, what is that simple thing you always have on hand?

As followers of Christ, we don’t just have a responsibility to welcome those who come to us. Our call as Christians is to go.  To find places of welcome and use those opportunities to share the goodness of God with others.  You might not have everything, you might only have a simple cup of cold water, but you can use whatever that small thing is to share the message of the gospel with others around you.

Just like I couldn’t turn down just a glass of water at my small group when I first joined the group.  Neither will your simple offerings be turned down or marked insignificant.  Use what you have, however simple or complicated that may be and use it for the building up of the kingdom of God.