Give A Cup of Cold Water

By Dr. Barrett Mosbacker

February 14, 2015

Have you ever been extremely hot, sweaty, and thirsty? Of course you have, and you would give almost anything for a cup of cold water.

Many of our students are hot, sweaty, and thirsty. They labor under the burden of academic pressure, which for many is crushing. They labor under the assault of the flesh, the world, and the devil. They labor under the guilt of sin. They labor under the lie that their value is tied to performance, looks, or both. They labor under the bully. They labor under divorce and abusive or neglectful parents. They labor under physical illness. They labor under racism. They are pursued and harassed by their own sinful natures, a world bent on conforming them to its agenda, and a devil seeking to devour them. They are hot, sweaty, and thirsty.

They need the cup of encouragement. They need the cup of patience and help. They need the cup of wise counsel. They need the cup of tutoring. They need the cup of loving correction. They need the cup of God’s Word.

They need a cup of cold water from us. Let us do our best to give them whatever cup of cold water they need — for Jesus’s sake and for theirs. Jesus said:

Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward (Matthew 10:40–42).

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36).

Is our cup ready?