This past Christmas my wife suprised me with one of those Starbucks travel mugs that entitles me to go to Starbucks every day in January and get it filled up with a brewed coffee or hot tea.  To put it plainly, its a glorious gift to give someone who loves coffee.

So, naturally I typically haven’t let a day go by this month without stopping in, slamming that mug down on the counter and getting my fill. Needless to say, I’ll be sad to see January end.

I went in this morning and as I walked up to the counter, I thought to myself that the past two times I had gotten it filled up, I didn’t finish it. That’s horrifying, I know but I’m the king of setting coffee down and getting distracted by life only to return to a tepid coffee later.  So, I thought to myself I would only ask to have the mug only filled half way this time.

You should’ve seen the look on that barista’s face. His brain locked up. He literally froze for a couple seconds and finally uttered, “Are you sure?” The idea that someone would enter a Starbucks, have full rights to a full (rather large) travel mug brimming of that dark elixir, and yet ask for only half a cup had left him dumbfounded. I could see it in his eyes: “Why in the name of all that is good and caffeinated would you ever turn down this liquid crack?!? Why??? WHHHYYY????”  That’s what his eyes said. Word for word.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing.”  [Eph. 1:3]

We are lavished with spiritual blessings because of Jesus. We are overwhelmed with the goodness of God on a day to day—no—moment to moment basis. But often I only take a portion of God. I do this through small praying, weak faith, worry in the face of trials, and praise that far too attached to my mood. I take a mere sliver of God when I am entitled through Christ to “every spiritual blessing”!

So, God invites me to live hysterically free. And I choose to hold onto a few chains.

God invites me to cast my cares on Him. And I choose to question His strength.

God invites me to experience fully-engulfing peace. And I choose to worry.

God invites me to live forgiven. And I choose to quietly drag shame around.

Through that silly cup of coffee I had this morning, half full as it was, God reminded me that there is always so much more of Him than I am choosing to take. So much more to learn, so much more to know, so much more to enjoy.