12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12
I expect my morning coffee to save me. My afternoons and evenings look forward to the morning for nothing else than my cup of hot darkened brew. It is part of an early (way too early) morning tradition that has pushed my days into motion no matter how heavy the need for rest is. For years, I have searched the world for the best avenue to distribute said coffee into my battered soul. French press, pour-over, cold brew, percolator, I even use a contraption purchased while in Cambodia in hopes of finding the Holy Grail of coffee delivery. While in quarantine, I have made this drink around 10 different ways. Currently I have researched the AeroPress thinking it will solve all my caffeinated longings. I go to great lengths because much of me believes the “perfect cup” is out there somewhere.
We may not be fully conscious of the trivial things we look to save us. The sober truth is that we look in many corners, websites, coffee cubs, and paychecks to provide some sort of “salvation”. Maybe, like John Calvin said, our hearts are idol making factories, that we give up our attention and hearts without limit. Or maybe we are aware of the incredible difficulty of life and so we look elsewhere for relief. Maybe it is easier to obsess over coffee than it is to deal with the true matters of the soul.
Salvation and worship of course are a delicate balance. If we were spoke into existence by an expressive God, before which He created an incredible world of vibrancy for our enjoyment, then we can assume we are to find some solace in life, however fleeting, in this life. It is not wrong to enjoy the world when we can. After all, God created and filled it with things that reveal His heart. Yet, we all know the hollowed experience of replacing the Creator with the created. Even the wisest of us are not immune to this most basic desire.
no name under heaven . . .
True salvation, the type that rattles your soul into peace, is found from the source of all great things. We would be best served to understand God as the ultimate creative force of the utmost integrity who all good and noble things spring from. So when we enjoy our trinkets, distractions, and all else we fill our heart with, we must go back to the source for our ultimate worship. So as silly as it sounds, I worship God for the coffee He created. I also understand that as long as I exist under heaven, I will not find the “perfect cup” of coffee, for I know this space we exist in is blanketed with the restlessness of sin. Perhaps we can assume that which is perfect will be found only on the other side of heaven. I’m sure it won’t be Maxwell House.
Matt simon blog 