Give Me Coffee!
Coffee brings dark to light!
What was life like without coffee? Before coffee found its way to Europe and the America’s the people in those regions were very sleepy and depressed because they did not have coffee to drink. (Historical “fact” I just made up.) Coffee had been, up until the 1700’s, a very tightly controlled commodity that was monopolized by the kingdom of Arabia. It originated in Ethiopia and as the legend goes it was discovered by an Ethiopian goat-herder who noticed that his goats seemed like they were full of energy and would dance around every time they ate these little red berries off of a certain type of shrub. So apparently he ate some of the berries too and from that experience he, or someone else, decided to dry and roast the seeds (beans) that were in the berries and grind them up to steep in hot water and thus coffee was born! (What a great day that was!) They traded these beans to Arab traders who were quick to notice the potential financial windfall that would result from cornering the market on this marvelous bean! For many years, they maintained the secret of where these beans came from and would not allow any “green” coffee beans (non-roasted; still fertile) to leave their shores. Another legend is that the wife of the Swedish ambassador to Arabia became enamored with coffee (and also it seems a certain prince of the royal house) and was given a single “green” coffee bean nestled in a bouquet of flowers as a parting gift from her special “friend.” And it is from this single green coffee bean, that the majority of the world’s supply of Arabica coffee derives.
What did people drink before coffee became widely available? Tea and hot chocolate, that’s what! When Europeans and Americans mainly drank tea, was there an industrial revolution? NO. Were the sciences advancing at any sort of rapid pace? NO. Am I saying that coffee is the reason for this rapid expansion in science and industry? YES, although very unscientifically! With coffee, people were more alert and more able to become more intellectual. Case in point – the Arabs were in the heyday of their “enlightenment” soon after discovering coffee while at the same time the Europeans were in the depths of the Dark Ages. Coincidence, maybe but I choose to believe not! (After all, this supports the point I am trying to make…!)
What is the point of all this rambling on about coffee? Without coffee the world was in darkness and there were none of the great advances in industry in science; and the human condition was fraught with pessimism and sleepiness. (I don’t know this, but it sounds good. I love coffee!)
Whether my conclusion about coffee is sure or not, I know one that that is sure: Without Jesus Christ and His coming to this world all would be darkness, pessimism and men would still be slumbering in spiritual ignorance and bondage to sin. Like the first drink of coffee opens the eyes in the morning, the Son of God opened the eyes of those who were in spiritual darkness and led them out into the sunshine, dispelling all spiritual slumber and giving those who would accept and OBEY Him the promise of eternal life.
“And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…” Matthew 4:13-17