Tea For Two

Tea for Two

When was the last time you enjoyed a steaming cup of tea? Making one couldn’t be easier. You simply boil water, toss in a tea bag, and let it steep. Mmmm. But did you ever stop to consider who came up with the idea of soaking a little bag of leaves in a cup? Like many inventions, it was a happy accident.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, Thomas Sullivan was a tea and coffee merchant who, as was customary, sent out samples in tins to prospective clients. One day he thought of a way to save money by using small, hand-sewn silk muslin sacks instead of tins. Some folks weren’t sure what to do with this new package, so they threw the whole bag into hot water. Impressed with the results, they requested more, praising Sullivan for his new, no-mess method of fixing tea. Voilà, the first tea bags were born.

Today, tea comes in dozens of flavors. Mint. Darjeeling. Raspberry. Earl Grey. Licorice. Cinnamon. The list goes on and on. Tea bags may look the same on the outside, but they’re as different as chamomile and English Breakfast on the inside. Did you know that Christians actually have something in common with tea bags? It’s this: despite our outward similarities, we don’t really know what we’re made of until we’re in hot water.

Can you recall facing a “hot water” moment recently? We all have them. Some big. Some small. And the world is watching to see how we respond. Peter knew that when he wrote, “When your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1 Peter 1:7). Amid tense situations, we get a chance to honor God and show others what we’re made of. It’s one thing to bear the label “Christian”; it’s another to live like one when the heat is on.

Daddy-Daughter Time

Take time to share a snack of tea and cookies with a twist. Each of you choose the other’s tea bag from a box of assorted flavors. Remove any labels and see if you can identify the flavor. As you sip, discuss times you’ve found yourself in hot water. How did you respond? What situations make it challenging to live like a Christian? Encourage each other by recalling a time when you saw evidence of faith under pressure.

What’s The Word?

When your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.   1 Peter 1:7