Cup bearer to the king

This post will be pretty short. It goes with my favorite picture from our trip to Cambodia. Saturday was fun day at HPC when the kids can come and simply be kids. They color, dance, play games, do science experiments with eggs and straws...and they laugh. The workers dress up in crazy costumes and play along with the kids.

On the Saturday that we were there, in addition to helping with the games, I had the privilege to also be cup-bearer to the king.

There was one small boy, he looked to be about 3 years old, and he caught my eye early on in the day. He didn't really play the games the bigger boys played, mainly because he was just so young. Then, when they were finished coloring, I noticed this little fellow diligently working to pick up all the crayons and make sure they got back into the bag. Such a little worker!

At one point, he went to get himself a drink of cool clean water; and like most little boys he filled his cup WAY too full. With every step, he spilled a little of the water. I came over and offered to carry his cup for him. That was all it took. Before I knew it, I was standing there holding that cup for my new little friend. 

He would run around the room and stop back for a sip of water. Then he'd dance a bit with the group and stop back for another sip. Sometimes I think he ran around the room simply so he could come back and get a sip of water from the "lady." And I have to admit - I was loving every minute of it. I laughingly nicknamed him "the king" and I was his cupbearer.

I don't always think "spiritually" when life is happening, but later when I look back on things, I realize just how much God was a part of what was going on. That's what happened when I later looked back at my pictures of me with "the king." I realized I had been given the opportunity to do something truly remarkable...to serve as unto Jesus. My husband reminded me of the verse that says when you do something for the least of these, you do it unto Christ. 

I had no idea that I was doing something ''great" as I held the cup for this little fellow, but according to God's Word, it's a pretty big deal. I remember thinking I wish I could play music like some others in the group, or sing, or dance or SOMETHING...but I was only holding a cup.... I wonder how many other times in our lives we have the opportunity to be "cup bearer" but since it doesn't seem as special as what others do, or because no one takes a picture of it, we never stop to realize that it really is something more. 

Every dollar that was given to help us go on this mission trip - you held the cup for the King! Every prayer that was said for safe travels and for ministry guidance - you held the cup for the King! Every encouraging word, every loan of materials for skits, every meal prepared for our families while we were gone - you held the cup for the King!

And now that we are home, I need to remember that every thing I do for our fellow man - I am holding the cup for the King. The kind word or tip to the cashier who has worked so hard all day; the smile given to the weary person walking past; the encouraging word given to a co-worker or student; and every act of service done so that your fellow man can, just for a moment, stop and get a "drink" from the well of living water that flows through you...all are holding the cup for the King.

May your days be blessed, my friend. We have been given a wonderful joy....to hold the cup for the King.

Matthew 10:42

The Message (MSG)

^40-42 “We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.”

Matthew 25:40

The Voice (VOICE)

King: ⁴⁰ I tell you this: whenever you saw a brother or sister hungry or cold, whatever you did to the least of these, so you did to Me.