It's amazing to think of God as the Creator of the universe, Maker of all that is seen and unseen. When we think of God's creations, the images that are captured by my mind are those of nature, the plants, the beasts and animals of the air, sea and land. My thoughts are filled with imaginations of picturesque landscapes, towering mountains, plummeting ravines, vast expanses of valleys and seas, and all the other wonderful works of nature.
While those are undoubtedly amazing works of God, and I can reflect upon them all day long, spending time with him in a quiet valley, or a silent grassland perhaps, God has taken me instead to a cafe in the city to just sit down with Him and have a cup of coffee. It was a chilly winter's day, so a nice, hot cup of coffee sounded really good to me.
When He asked me what I would like, I pondered for a long time but could not quite make a decision. Then He said to me, "Come on. Make a choice. It's on me."
It's on You, God? You're treating me coffee?
"Yea, you heard me, didn't you? I'll make you the coffee."
God? Making me coffee? Now that's something new.
Though the cafe scene was a bit artificial, still wouldn't it be interesting to think of God as the Lord of Coffee?
One of my cell group friends told us this joke in an OCF meeting when she was trying to promote Coffee Ministry to the OCF members. Though it was a good laugh at the moment, it kinda got stuck to my mind.
God loves coffee. Why?
Because He Brews!
I had a good think about it, and concluded: Why not, if God created the coffee plant, surely He enjoys its harvest.
And if there's anyone who's good at anything, it is the Lord. So it's not impossible to think of God making the best coffee imaginable with the blink of an eye, with a command from His lips, or perhaps even taking the time to just do it manually with His hands. Taking out the seeds (coffee beans) from the fruit of the coffee tree, roasting the beans with fire, grinding the beans and then brewing the coffee.
And there's so many different kinds of coffee that one can make. Here are some examples:
- Black coffee, made by soaking the ground coffee beans in boiling water. A strong coffee. Flavour depends on beans used and degree of roasting (light/medium/dark).
- Espresso, made by an espresso machine (I'm sure God has His own) where water at high pressure (8 - 9 atm) is passed through the ground coffee beans. The water takes on the flavour, aroma, and contents of the coffee beans. The defining characteristic of an espresso is the reddish froth layer on top of the coffee which is contains aromatic oils in the coffee beans. It is a strong coffee and should be taken while it's still hot to preserve freshness and taste.
- Americano, which is espresso mixed with hot water to dilute the strength of the coffee.
- Latte (Italian for milk), made by mixing espresso with hot milk and sometimes topped with a bit of frothed milk (milk with the appearance of having small bubbles in it). It typically consists of 1/3 espresso + 2/3 hot milk. It has some variants:
- Flat white: 1/3 espresso + 2/3 hot milk
- Mocha: 1/3 espresso + 2/3 hot milk + chocolate
- Cappucino, made by mixing espresso with hot milk and frothed milk. The difference between cappucino and latte is in the content of milk. Cappuccino has less hot milk but more frothed milk compared to latte. Typically it consists of 1/3 espresso + 1/3 hot milk + 1/3 frothed milk.
- Corretto, made by adding a bit of liquor to an espresso.
- Macchiato, which comprises of two types:
- Cafe macchiato, made by adding a bit of steamed, frothed milk to an espresso
- Latte macchiato, made by adding a bit of espresso to a cup of hot milk
- Iced coffee, which as its name suggest is coffee with ice. It could be iced coffee (black), iced latte, iced mocha, etc.
But God, I'm sure He enjoys all of them. All the different tastes and aromas, the various flavours and mixtures, the plethora of textures and consistencies, the melange of zests and essences. After all, the Lord made everything good and He enjoys His creations.
And just as there are so many different kinds of coffee He can make, God has made various kinds of people in the way that pleases Him.
Just as there are different flavours to a coffee, God makes people with all different kinds of talents. There are those who are intellectual, those who are athletic, those who are artistic, those who musical.
Just as there are various aromas to that nice, hot (again it may not even be hot) drink, God creates people with different kinds of personalities. He makes those who are upbeat and cheerful all the time, those who are a little more quiet, those who prefer more light-hearted talks and chatter, or those who prefer more serious and engaging discussions. He creates people with all sorts of preferences (yea...even for coffee), styles, goals, ambitions and visions.
Just as a barista (coffee maker) makes all kinds of coffee according to his purpose (to fulfill his promises to his customer, i.e. to make the best coffee they've ever tasted), so God makes all kinds of people according to His purpose (to fulfill His promises to creation i.e. to raise up a generation of people who display the fullness of His character and reveal His glory to all creation).
And the best thing of all, just as a coffee maker delights in all of his creations, the Master Coffee Maker enjoys every masterpiece that He makes, not only His beverages but also His people. Just as He enjoys every sip of coffee that He carefully brews, so does He savour every bit of the people that He intricately knits together in their mothers' wombs.
"So what's your choice?"
I was startled by His voice. I realised that I had yet to make my choice.
How about a cappuccino?
"Alright, one cappuccino coming right up."
After about 30 seconds, He whisked a cup of hot, steamy drink topped with a fine, white froth. I slowly lifted the cup by its handle and brought it close to my mouth until its lips touched mine.
I took a sip.
It was the best coffee I've ever tasted. The best thing about it, it was made by the Master Coffee Maker.
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