Steeped in God’s Love
By Linda Rex
Moving into “Proper” Time
One of the simple pleasures of life I enjoy is a nice cup of tea. I like different types of teas, and lately have had to limit myself pretty much to caffeine-free teas. During the summer, I fill up the sun tea jar with water and tea bags and set it outside to steep. Once the tea is made, I am able to enjoy iced tea—emphasis on the “iced” part of the drink.
Steeping tea is an interesting process. Putting tea bags in very hot water accelerates the process of steeping, while placing tea bags in cold water and placing them in the hot sun presupposes it will take awhile for the tea to steep. On cooler days, it takes most of the afternoon for the tea to penetrate the water, while on a hot Tennessee summer day, it only takes a couple hours.
Now that we have attended to the events of Pentecost, we move on the Christian calendar into what the lectionary calls “Proper” time. The time between Trinity Sunday and Thanksgiving Day is called “ordinary time.” During ordinary time we live out our Christian faith and the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in ordinary life. What we have learned and have come to believe about Jesus in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension now become a part of our everyday existence.
This morning I was struck by the Message Bible translation of Matthew 6:33: “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. …” In my mind I can see a picture of you and me being the sun tea jar—vessels for God’s presence. We have been filled with the water of the Spirit, and the tea bags are present, full of God’s very life within us—Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. Now we are set in the sun of God’s loving presence each and every moment of our lives. What will come out of this?
I’m sure there are times when God allows the process of steeping to be accelerated. All it takes is a horrific or difficult event in our lives to put the heat on. The Spirit is always at work either way, and Jesus is always present in every moment—whether difficult or joyful. It is his indwelling presence which makes a profound difference in how we handle the events of our lives. Trusting him and allowing his life to penetrate fully our inner being is the process of steeping—and this is what we were created for.
All of life now is to be lived as we are led by Christ and filled with the Spirit in the loving presence of Abba. This is the “God-reality” of our existence. The “God-initiative” of our life is that Abba loves you and me. Christ is Lord, and he calls the shots—but always in love, looking out for our best interests and caring about our every concern and need. We listen to him and follow him wherever he leads us by his Spirit. There is a direction to our lives now—and it’s in devotion to him, not to our dead-in-Christ passions and lusts.
As we go through life, we are not to be anxious about anything, “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6 NASB) We acknowledge our dependency upon God and allow him to be who he is—our Provider and Sustainer, the One who cares for us. This is the “God-provisions” of our existence: we understand everything comes from his loving hand, and so we live in humble gratitude each and every moment.
In this way, we are “steeping our life” in the One who is our Life, Jesus Christ, and we are drinking in of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. We are living day by day in the presence of Abba, growing in our love for him as we embrace more and more the truth of our being—who we are as his beloved adopted children, made in his image, after his likeness, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and being and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
It’s important to note the role the jar plays in the steeping of the sun tea. It’s not really a passive role, but neither is it the controlling role in this whole scenario. It many ways the jar is merely a “receptacle”—notice the similarity to the word “receptive.” Receptive is what we are asked by God to be—to receive the abundant love of God, the gift of that love expressed to us in Christ. God says to us: Receive the indwelling presence of God in Christ—the Holy Spirit—and allow him to have his way in you. Allow the Spirit to penetrate your entire existence so you are steeped completely in God’s love.
The jar is made of clear glass, enabling the sun to penetrate through the walls of the container, to interact with the water and the tea. Abba, Jesus, and the Spirit are all apart of the process of transformation, and work together to take what was and to transform it into something new. Our water-filled jar becomes a jar filled with a delicious drink which can be poured out to bless others.
We are not meant to have this transformation in our life only for ourselves. Part of the blessing of ordinary time is the opportunity to begin to see how we can share the life God has given us with others. We have received new life—and as we embrace God’s heart of love and grace, we can begin to share it with others, helping them to see the God-reality, God-initiative, and God-provisions are for them as well.
The sun tea jar sits on the table in the bright sunshine, not anxious or worried about making sure it gets the tea made properly. There is a restfulness about the entire process. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” He reassures us—he has it all under control. It’s not about our perfect performance, but solely about Christ by the Spirit completing what Abba has begun in us. He calls us merely to trust him, to trust the process, and to trust in the unending love of Abba—for he will finish what he has begun.
Thank you, Abba, for your perfect and unending love. Thank you that it’s not about us and how well we perform, but about what you have done and are doing even now through your Son Jesus Christ and your Blessed Spirit. We open ourselves to your perfect work. May we live each day in the truth of our existence and allow ourselves to be filled with the fullness of your love and life. In your Name we pray. Amen.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 NASB
“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” Matthew 6:33 MSG
Our Life in the Trinity 