THE
UGLY COFFEE MUG
The
scene took place in the board room where top executives were meeting
with the CEO of the company. Portfolios were placed in front of each
of the men at the table followed by the serving of coffee. When the
CEO raised his mug to take a drink, the board room erupted in
laughter. Their attention had been drawn to the incredibly ugly mug
that he held in his hand. Normally, in the past, he drank from an
elegant bronze-colored mug with gold trim on the rim and handle.
However, this mug was an ugly brown with yellow painted on the rim
and on the crooked, misshaped handle. The mug itself was barely
cylindrical, its rim drooped on one side, and its base was unstable.
The
CEO gently set the mug down and with a serious look on his face
scanned the table. The room went silent with the fear that they had
offended him. He opened his mouth and began telling the story behind
the ugly mug.
It
was the week before Father's Day, and at his son's elementary school
the children were making ceramic gifts to give to their dads. His
son, with great care, made this mug for his dad to replace the
elegant bronze mug that he had accidentally broken. He painted it
with brown coloring and trimmed it with yellow on its rim and handle
to resemble the original. After glazing, the teacher fired the
students' creations and returned them to the young artisans. Before
wrapping them, each student was allowed to present their creative
handiwork before the class as a "show and tell" project.
When this little boy's turn came, the class broke out in laughter and
criticisms, making fun of his ugly mug. Gulping tears away, he began
to tell how much he loved his dad and wanted to replace the one that
he had accidentally broken.
On
Father's Day morning, the little boy's dad opened his son's present
and accepted it with praise and a big embrace, telling him "I
love you and I love this mug. It's the most beautiful mug I have
ever been given." His little son looked up at him, beaming with
joy and said, "I love you too, daddy. I made it especially for
you." At that glorious moment, the little boy forgot how his
classmates had laughed at him and the gift that he had so lovingly
made with his own hands.
Ever
since that day, the CEO had kept that mug on his desk as a reminder
of the son that he loved. It was a token of a bond that only a
father and his son could know.
As
the CEO ended his story there was the glimmer of tears in his eyes as
he said, "Every time I look at this mug, I don't see a mug. I
see my little boy looking up at me with a big smile on his face and I
hear him say, "I love you too, daddy. I made it especially for
you."
This
little story reminds me of the parable that Jesus told about the
prodigal son, which in turn reminds me about the lives of every one
of us. The prodigal son "...gathered all together, journeyed
to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal
(wasteful)
living." (Lk. 15:13) At some point in life we have all gone on
that journey that leads far away from our heavenly Father and wasted
that clean soul that we came into this world with.
In
Jesus' parable, this runaway son "came to himself" (vs. 17)
and returned home confessing that "I have sinned against heaven
and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son."
(vs. 21) But listen to the unexpected response of his father; "When
he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion,
and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." (vs. 20) Then he
threw a great party to celebrate his return.
The
prodigal son describes all of us. Paul told his Corinthian brethren,
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners
will inherit the kingdom of God. And
such were some of you,
but
you were sanctified,
but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the
Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:9-11) In spite of the
self-inflicted damages of sin, they had been "sanctified",
set
apart as being special,
by God.
All
who have made that journey back home has been "redeemed"
(bought
back)
"with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish
and without spot" (1 Pet. 1:18-19), unlike us who have dirtied
our garments in the pig pen of life.
Our
return to the Father is a giving up of our old self. It is a giving
up of our will in favor of His. Of this feeble sacrifice Paul said,
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
to God,
which is your reasonable service." (Rom. 12:1) Notice that it
is by God's mercy
that He accepts us back, and that, even though we have defiled
ourselves in this same body, we can surrender it back to Him to be
used for His purpose, and this is "acceptable
to God."
Paul
recognized how badly he had messed up his life and how unworthy he
was before the Lord. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of
all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained
mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as
a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting
life." (1 Tim. 1:15-16) Paul is the great example and "pattern"
by which we can all compare our past, with the knowledge that no
matter how badly we have messed up our lives and no matter how
unworthy we are to present ourselves before the Father, His
longsuffering, His mercy, and His love for us still waits for the
return of His children. This is the hope that is extended to those
who claim that they have sinned too grievously for God to forgive
them.
Even
though we bear the marks of the damages of sin, the Father heals our
wounds with the blood of His Son and accepts us back. And while the
world may only remember our checkered past and laugh at the faith
that moves us to serve our Redeemer, our Father lovingly accepts our
little living sacrifice. Herein are David's words so appropriate:
"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.
"Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your
lovingkindness, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins
of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember
me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord." (Psm. 25:1-2, 6-7)
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Gary V. Womack - December 2004