The Cups and Religion

Judy and I have a large collection of cups. They are hanging on 18 hooks in our dining room. We have collected cups from our various travels. Those 18 cups have been gathered from our European, African, Middle East and Central America travels which were the result of our visiting missionary friends and seeing their ministries. Those cups are not only beautiful; they also remind us of wonderful families and their mission work. However beautiful those cups are, their real purpose is the empty space inside the cup. The purpose of the cup is to be filled with tea, coffee, water, etc. Without the cup, we would not be able to drink the liquid. I think of the cups as a metaphor of religion. The purpose of religion, church, denominations, rituals, music, sermons, etc. is to permit one to drink of the Living Water or the Divine I Am. Unfortunately, too frequently folks become so involved with the cup, its outside, and appearances that they fail to remember that its purpose is the empty space inside that is waiting to be filled with the Divine’s life-giving substances. The cup is important, perhaps not as important as we might think. Nevertheless, without some type of ‘cup’ we would not have anything from which to drink the Divine’s life-giving substance, but the life-giving substances need to fill and overflow the cup. Religion is not about the ‘cup;’ it is about the Divine’s living water becoming available.