“For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” Mark 9:41 ESV
Reflection: when did you last give a young Christian a cup of water?
I had to take my truck in for a recall service yesterday morning. And, as I pulled up to the service bay, I was immediately met by the service advisor who greeted me, took some information and led me to his desk. The desk had a glass top, see through, and under it he had a Bible, opened to 1. Corinthians 12. Not only was he reading and studying the Word of God for himself, but by his simple, but bold actions he showed everyone who came to his desk who he belonged to. What was important to him. He didn’t say anything to me about his faith. But it was pretty clear without words. And even if some might find that offensive, believers find this courageous and clear.
The truth is that our actions really matter.
Paul wrote about our actions as Christians as a “letter”, visible and read by all “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 ESV. Our actions are therefore the “proof” of what is actually in our hearts, what the Lord has imprinted onto our hearts. Our actions are also referred to as “fruit”; good fruit can only come from a good tree.
In our focus verse today, Jesus raises a very serious point about what we do for other believers. What effect we have on other believers; leading them to or away from the truth. Let’s read, starting with the focus verse. “For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” Mark 9:41 ESV. Now, was He referring to a literal “cup of water” here, or was that a metaphor for a deeper point? Let’s read the next verse. ““Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” Mark 9:42 ESV. We see here His more direct reference to sin, to falling into sin, so what does he mean by a
“cup of water”?
If we go to the original Greek source here, there are two meanings of “cup”; the obvious one as a drinking vessel. But, in biblical context it also is a metaphor for “one’s lot or experience, whether joyous or adverse, divine appointments, whether favourable or unfavourable, are likened to a cup which God presents one to drink: so of prosperity and adversity”. Now, that puts a whole new dimension to what Jesus says about giving a cup of water to followers of Him. This is about sharing experiences, to help in particular “young” believers as they are often “thirsty” to learn, to help them in their Christian walk. Notice in the second verse Jesus specifically targets “little ones who believe in me”, young believers. He had just brought a child before the disciples, “And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”” Mark 9:36-37 ESV. So, Jesus was referring to children, but also “children” in faith, or young Christians.
And, we see here how serious Jesus takes sin, and specifically causing others to sin. He continues that into the next paragraph which we will look at next. Paul dealt with this topic in the eating of meat that had been used for idol worship. Let’s read the context “However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” 1 Corinthians 8:7-13 ESV.
So, our actions is a very serious topic for each of us to think about. Are we actively providing much needed “cups of water” to young believers, sharing our experiences, divine appointments, etc? It might be as simple as having our Bibles open on our desks, or taking the time to share our experiences in walking with Christ with them. And, let’s also evaluate carefully whether our actions are causing immature, young believers, even a child, to fall and sin?
