Drinking Tea in Light of the Cross

I have been drinking coffee for the last 20 or so years.  I can remember kickin it with my Nana and Grampy on a Saturday morning as I dropped multiple teaspoons of sugar into my Maxwell House.  Over the years my taste in coffee has grown and I had become a bit of a coffee snob.  I just kept searching for something more (be it French Press or shots) but never could get what I was looking for.

Then it happened.  I was driving last autumn and was thinking about the diversity of how God is glorified in his creation, specifically the things that we eat and drink.  So I thought about coffee.  And while I know there are myriads of beans and manners to drink the beans, I have become somewhat stale in my worship while enjoying my coffee; it was the same thing everyday.  Then I started thinking about tea leaves.  I wondered why so much of the rest of the world drinks tea and how many different types of tea there are.

Incidentally I was in the midst of sermon prep that week so I cruised on down to a local tea shop called The Tea Smith to enjoy some natural and special revelation.  I walked in and saw these hundred or so cans of tea leaves.  They looked like a cross between a yern and a pagan shrine.  It was definitely trippy.

I told the tea guy that I was new and he began to break down tea for me like a commentator on ESPN’s NFL Game Day.  Adam is his name and he is the type of guy I needed to bump into.  He was a tea-a-logian.  He broke down white, green, oolong, and black teas.  I let him know that I was there to worship and some of my frustrations with coffee.  According to good providence he informed me that he was a believer and knew what I meant.

Since then my wife Christie and I have prayed the prayer and asked tea into our hearts.  We enjoy the variety of tastes, smells, colors, and origins.  I am all about the Irish & English Breakfasts.  However, the traditional masala gets a lot of love at the house also.

I love going in to the Tea Smith and marveling at God’s creativity in making all of these different types of leaves.  I smell them and taste them and just marvel.  I think of how now in Christ believers are able to rightly receive and give thanks for things such as food and drink based upon the Savior’s sacrifice.  We can now rightly worship God through the enjoyment of his creation (1 Tim 4).  This serves to remind me of the power of the cross.  I enjoy and marvel at the creative power of God in such diverse manners as these tea leaves, but even more, I worship with amazement and cross-boasting delight at the restoration of humanity through the Savior’s redemptive work.

So if you’re in a coffee rut, go grab a cup of tea and enjoy.  Just a word of caution from Adam at the Tea Smith, don’t waste your time and money drinking tea from dusty bags, you need to steep the leaves in your water with filtration to have a real worshipful experience (J).

Possibly Related posts:

1. The Attributes of God in light of the Cross
2. Don’t Waste Your Coffee
3. The Attributes of God in light of the Cross (part ii)
4. quote || cross-centered holiness
5. The Life Changing Perspective of the Cross

14 Responses to “Drinking Tea in Light of the Cross”

1. Brian (Another) says:

   August 1, 2008 at 9:38 am

   Finding the gospel in tea is an amazing thing. It’s like you can see God in like everything. Great post.

   If you’re up for an interesting variation on tea, go and find some mate (Argentinean drink). You feel like your doing something illicit given the contraption for drinking it, but it’s definitely a good.
2. Stephen Altrogge says:

   August 1, 2008 at 9:59 am

   Erik – I’m sorry to hear that you’ve gone apostate on the coffee. I’m a bit of a coffee freak and love using my Aeropress to achieve the perfect balance of smooth and bite. As great as your post was, I don’t think I’ll be hitting up the tea any time soon.
3. Erik says:

   August 1, 2008 at 10:06 am

   Not a total apostate. I still enjoy coffee on occasion. I know people who have gone to the Aeropress, they have never been the same. Aren’t you a Sov Grace guy? C’mon, God is speaking through Tea bro…C’mon! (j)
4. cavman says:

   August 1, 2008 at 11:53 am

   glad to see you have seen the light, mostly. Tea rocks.
5. Erik says:

   August 1, 2008 at 12:58 pm

   cavman- I can’t help but think this is a premillennial dig…
6. Jerry says:

   August 1, 2008 at 3:15 pm

   Since then my wife Christie and I have prayed the prayer and asked tea into our hearts.

   I hope that you really repented coffee and embraced tea. if not, you might be a false convert.

   Let me recommend, for the edification of all, a Bodum Tea Infuser pot.
7. Stephen Altrogge says:

   August 1, 2008 at 5:48 pm

   Erik – It’s obvious to me now that coffee simply didn’t choose you. You have fallen in love with this present tea and have gone out from among us because you were never part of us.

   Most people don’t know that there’s a silent ‘C’ at the beginning of TULIP. I’ll let you figure out what it stands for…
8. Jason says:

   August 1, 2008 at 7:14 pm

   Have you tried roasting your own coffee beans? It is surprisingly simple and astoundingly good. Check out Sweet Marias.
9. Marie Paul says:

   August 1, 2008 at 8:47 pm

   Erik ~ Been blessed by your blog for months now but have never posted a comment. However, now that you’ve converted to tea, I can hold my tongue no longer.

   So sorry to hear that you have left your first love. Remember from where you have fallen and repent!

   You obviously haven’t had the pleasure of coffee from Zimbabwe. It has changed my life and made me more of a coffee snob that I was before, if that’s even possible. Those times when I am in the flesh and give into the temptation, I must agree that Irish Breakfast tea is tolerable.
10. widim says:

    August 2, 2008 at 7:55 am

    I just enjoy a good Diet Mountain Dew … all the while worshipping and giving God the glory.
11. Erik says:

    August 2, 2008 at 11:08 am

    John- D.Mdew is well above average. Second only to Coke Zero in my view.

    Marie-I’ve never been to Zimbabwe nor have I consumed anything from the country…perhaps I need to broaden out a bit.

    Stephen- I think you’ve had a bit too much coffee. (J)
12. Marie says:

    August 2, 2008 at 6:16 pm

    I’ve never been to Zimbabwe either, but I’ve found a place in South Carolina on the web that sells this delightful coffee.
13. Jeremy says:

    August 14, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    Erik, I find it humorous that a man from Massachusetts, home of the famous “Boston Tea Party” is parting ways with his coffee guzzling countrymen and going the tea route. If it’s any consolation, I’ve been a tea connoisseur for years. In fact, as I currently serve in Iraq I have been enjoying some delicious black cinnamon tea and even get some sweet and dark Iraqi chai between missions. Enjoy! I would love a Coke Zero by the way, but will have to wait until I return later this year. They don’t have it here.

    Adina and I are pregnant with our third child! She’s due right around the time I get back in November. We are praying for you and the new church in Bellevue. Blessings.
14. Erik says:

    August 14, 2008 at 4:26 pm

    Funny Jeremy.

    Congrats on the new baby! Glad to hear that you’ll be home with Adina and the kids at that time.

    I am thankful for your service to our country brother! Maybe next time you come to Omaha we can have some Iraqi chai or something.

    Enjoy Grace!