" . . . a cup of cold water . . . " Matthew 10:42
This text is generally misquoted as a "cup of water"; but Jesus is talking about a "cup of cold water." The usual interpretation of this verse is that any little act of kindness done in Christ's name will be rewarded - even a mere cup of water. This of course is true, but that is not the meaning here. Rather it means that making a real "sacrifice" will be rewarded. People in Jesus' day could not just open the door of the refrigerator and take out a bottle of cold water or add some convenient ice cubes. Then a cup of cold water meant going to the spring - maybe far away up the side of a hill or among the rocks. Or it might mean going to a deep well, letting down a bucket, and laboriously pulling it back up. That was the only way to get fresh, cold water. It meant a sacrifice. Getting a cup of cold water probably involved going to the source of the spring; for the water in a stream a few hundred feet below the point of its origin was no longer cool in that hot climate but soon became tepid and nauseating.
The Word of God is compared to water (John 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23). If you want it fresh - get it at the fountain. Too many are content to get it "piped in through the preacher" or even through these devotionals. But it has lost some of its freshness when brought by others from the spring. Take your cup and go to the spring yourself, and enjoy it to the full.
We occasionally meet folks who confess that they read our "devotional" for the day - but do not take time to read the Scripture. How inconsistent to take our lukewarm articles and neglect the cold, fresh water of the Word! The excuse "I did not have time" is pretty lame, but if you really don't have time, then please, please, please skip what I have written and read the Scripture! Get fresh water; go to the spring yourself!
"Bread For Each Day"
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