On Monday, I was privileged to go to the Charleston Tea Plantation with some new friends. It was an exciting day of fellowship and tea drinking, but I didn’t expect for it to be so educational. On the plantation, we took a tour of the fields and the factory, all the while learning very interesting facts about tea. What that trip taught me is that I want to be like tea!
You see, the tea plant is a hard-worker. They start producing leaves nearly immediately, and the plants can live (and continue to give off good, rich tea leaves) for 600 or more years. 600 YEARS! That’s fascinating. But it’s also inspiring. I want my service to my God to be service that starts from my youth (whenever I am converted) and has the same zeal and richness from that point on through the rest of my life. Short life span, 80 years, doesn’t matter. I want all of my life to rich with good works, bearing fruit for my Master so long as I live.
Another way I want to be like tea is that tea is versatile. Who knew that black tea, green tea and oolong tea all came from the exact same plant!? They are all from the same, rich, growing bush, but they are used in different ways. I want to be tea. I want to be rich in good works, yes, but I don’t want those works to be cookie-cutter. I don’t want to feel placed in a box of having to serve just like everyone else does; just like every other preacher’s wife or every other 20-something. I want to use my skill set for God, being a good steward of the talents and resources He has given to me. And I don’t want to judge others for not being just like me. I will rejoice with those who can serve God in unique ways, and I will gladly do my part so that someone else can do something else.
The final way I want to be like tea is that I want to be pure. Tea has a certain acidity to it that gives it a natural deterrent from things that might otherwise harm it. Insects don’t go near it. Deer don’t eat it. That means that pesticides aren’t required, and the tea that you drink is “just plant”. No additives. No extras. Just leaves that are dried and pressed and (insert entire process here). What you drink is a pure, smooth blend. That’s who I want to be. I don’t want to be weighted down with the doctrines of men. I don’t want to have pure Christianity mixed with anything else – no creed book, no confession of faith. I just want the Bible. I just want to be a Bible believer and follower. I want what you see in me to be only what the Bible prescribes. No more, no less. Just pure Christianity, taken from the source.
Who knew there was so much to learn from tea? I surely didn’t. But I’m glad that I learned so much about it, because it inspires me to be pure and enduring and versatile. It inspires me to live my life for one purpose – glorifying God and serving Him all the days of my life. Serving Him like a tea plant – through the hot, sticky months of life for as long as I possibly can.
