Cold Water

This afternoon, I made my seasonal run to COCTCO. It roughly corresponds to summer, fall, winter, and spring, with maybe another visit or two thrown in. I mean it is macro-shopping. I am not a shopper by nature so I really like the once-and-done for three months vibe. I do hit the local grocery store when I only need one of something and not a twelve-pack. Like Tabasco. Or eggs, something fresh. But for meats and the like, my steer have a big "C" burned on their hide.

When I came home, I prepared to unload. My trunk was packed in the Honda Civic. No bags or boxes. Au Naturel. Then, I grabbed my laundry hamper and carried the quarry inside over and over again. An easy way to be green. Nary a bag. I reflected how much of a blessing it is to be able to go to a store in an afternoon and carry home more food than my ancestors might obtain in a year. Amazing.

Then, as I was eating the COSTCO faux sushi (hey, it is whole plate for ten bucks), I poured two glasses of cold water from the Mason Jar I always have on stand-by in my beer fridge. It just hit the spot. Good old water. That got me thinking about that verse in Matthew where Jesus says that we will be rewarded when we offer a cup of cold water in His name.

For us, that doesn't sound like a big deal. But in that culture, cold water took some drawing from a deep well or climbing some mountain. Israel is hot, its water is hot. Cold water in a hot land is particularly satisfying. Water itself was scarce, and if it was cold, all the sweeter. I suppose some biblical stories like this lose their power and relevance because we don't get how valuable a cup of cold water would be in Jesus's day. Now, I could give someone a case of cold Aquafina like it was nothing.  A lot of the developing world has no access to clean water and we scratch our heads an wonder how we can help. It ain't that hard. Share the Well...

Check out this link from Blood:Watermission.