Glass half full?

This morning I enjoyed a short written word from the General Secretary of SASRA, the Soldiers' and Airmen's Scripture Readers Association. He referred to the way individuals can be classified as "Glass half full" or "Glass half empty" people. "Those who are optimistic in life see there is still plenty left in the glass, whereas the pessimistic see the glass will soon be empty."

I have often asked myself whether Christians should be optimists or pessimists. The General Secretary's answer is, "Neither".

Our God wants us to have a glass that is not only completely filled, but running over: "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows" (Psalm 23:5). One of my favourite promises of Jesus is where He states, "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:38). He apparently said this in connection with a number of different points of teaching. Several times in John's gospel Jesus wishes for the disciples that their joy will be full (15:11; 16:24). Since a full glass is a promise from God to those who follow Jesus, we can behave as though our glass was already at least half full!

But on the bad side there is another type of completely filled cup in the Bible - the cup of wrath. Where God's judgment is on His wayward people or on the heathen nations, they are said to drink their fill of this cup of wrath. It has a fearsome effect. The drinkers stagger around helplessly. Many in our land and day are cheerfully drinking out of this cup, little knowing or caring what it will do to them when they have drained it to the dregs.

Yet there is a ray of hope even for those deluded people. Isaiah prophesies, "This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again" (51:22). This remains true today because Jesus, the Son of God, took the cup of wrath that was destined to come our way and drank it Himself. That is a picture of what happened on the cross. The way is then open for us to receive the full glass of God's salvation and blessing instead.

The upshot of this is that you will certainly end up with a full glass. But it is important to make sure that the one you are holding in your hand is the right one!