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Every time I've read that passage before, that's what I focused on... the ungrateful cup bearer.
Before reading it again today, I asked God to give me new understanding of the familiar story. Boy, did He deliver! It's easy to read the Bible as a storybook: Joseph interpreted a dream. The cup bearer got out of prison. The cup bearer forgot about Joseph. Bad cupbearer.
But the Bible's not all about stories. It's about hearts. It's God's inspired word -- recorded and preserved to help us understand Him better. To help us understand how to live for Him.
As I read the passage today, questions swirled in my head: Why did the cup bearer forget? What lesson is there in this for me? The passage doesn't actually record why the cup bearer forgot, but we can make an educated guess based on the circumstances.
Maybe he was selfish. Concerned about his dream, he was happy to "entertain" Joseph. Once he got what he wanted, though, he didn't give Joseph another thought even though they were imprisoned together.
Have you ever had the opportunity to share the message of hope in Christ with someone but opted not to because it was inconvenient? Maybe God nudged your heart to invite the store clerk to church, but because of your busy schedule, you clamped that mouth shut and spoke nothing? I know God has nudged me a few times -- more than a few -- and I've not obeyed. Too busy. Another day.
Maybe he was afraid. After all, Pharaoh had already shown he was willing to throw his "trusted advisor" the cup bearer in prison. Who's to say Pharaoh wouldn't do it again? Maybe the cup bearer decided sticking his neck out for Joseph wasn't worth the risk of going back to prison. If I were the cup bearer, I might well walk on egg shells around Pharaoh out of fear of his retribution.
Have you ever had the opportunity to share the salvation message with someone and chickened out because you were afraid they'd reject you? Yep. We want people to like us. We don't want them to toss us out.
Maybe he was intimidated. The cup bearer's release came at the same time as the chief baker's beheading. WHOA! I'm not sure about you, but if I saw a colleague beheaded, I'd do anything -- or not do anything -- to end up in the same position.
Or have you ever had an opportunity to share Jesus' love with someone because you felt intimidated? Have you ever thought something like, "There's no way he would ever listen to what I have to say. He's too hard. Too angry. Too far gone." The guy with the tattoos up and down both arms. The angry guy in the black leather.
We'll never know why the cup bearer didn't honor Joseph after getting his help, but we can still learn from him.
We'll never know for sure why the cup bearer didn't repay Joseph's kindness, but still we can learn from him and take a different approach. Instead of acting selfishly, thinking only of ourselves, we can think of all God has done, sending his Son to die on that cross for the redemption of our sins, and share the good news with others. Even when it's inconvenient. We can stop worrying about our own approval ratings and serve the One who loves us -- sharing his message whether we lose friends for doing it or not. And we can stop fearing rejection. Jesus died for that guy you deem too lost -- too far gone. He didn't just die for you.
Let's not be like the ungrateful cup bearer. Let's live differently: Share the gospel with everyone we meet. It just might release them from their own personal prison.
5 comments:
As a christian this is my problem. You said we can guess what reason is. I say he was gay and mad that joseph would not kiss him. Wait he has dementia and forgot. This is the problem christianity is based on faith not fact. 1+1=2. This is fact. If everything is left up to our own interpretation its just fairy tales.
Interesting point.
I wasn't trying to rationalize faith. I was asking God to help me understand on a deeper level. This time through, He showed me that like the cup bearer forgot to share Joseph's message with Pharaoh, we Christians forget to share God's message of salvation, hope and love with the lost.
Blessings,
Karen
Just love your enthusiasm to share the gospel. For who knows when it is mans last hour...and who are we to question who He has as His messenger. I have always thought...God can speak through a donkey...guess He can speak through me too. Lol Let us who have left our prisons of life...not forget those still bound and chained. ~ Good stuff! Thanks, ~ Jen
I also believe in facts. The fact is, the cup bearer did not tell Pharaoh of Joseph due to the "fact" that it was not in God's plan. While God did not plan for the cub bearer to tell Pharaoh, He did have plans for the Pharaoh to learn of Joseph. In my view, the importance of this part of the story being told is simply that we can learn from it. We can learn that we need to remember how we got to where we are. We need to recognize that those that have come along side of us with words from God have done so because they were called to do it. We can either recognize this for what it is and use this to speak truth to others that we meet in life or we can ignore it and God will have someone else that will step up in our place and receive the blessing for sharing what God has done for us through others.
This was an awesome post!
What really stuck to my spirit and jumped off the screen to me was....."stop worrying about our own approval ratings and serve the One who loves us."
Good Word!!!
-D-
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