I asked that question as a bottle of Avitae caffeinated water beckoned me as I was checking out at the grocery store.
Just the sheer oxymoronic duality, hypocrisy, and absolute genius of it slapped me in the face. The whole point of drinking water is to rehydrate yourself; but caffeine is a diuretic, which helps to dehydrate you. So what good is it to put opposing forces into your bottle? It’s like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker teaming up….but wait, that’s exactly what happened (at least in a galaxy far far away), but I digress.
Amidst the irony and activity of every day life, His love for us is revealed.
I started to see what the marketing people, who wanted my money, were getting at. As I gazed at the triangular stylized bottle, and read the philosophical spiel, I started to think it just might work to combine the benefits of water and caffeine in one package. The label told me it was just like drinking a soda, as far as caffeine goes, but without all the additives such as sugar etc. I like soda, I like lattes, and there’s water and caffeine in those, so…
Then, I tried to make some kind of spiritual connection. How does this remind me about how God has revealed himself? How does this highlight the nature of man and his desires? My wife humored me as I tried to make a connection to something spiritual. I find it enjoyable and beneficial to find patterns in this world that reflect God’s nature, His plan of redemption, creativity and overall goodness. Sure, sometimes the reflective patterns of God that I discover are a bit of a stretch and don’t have a direct tie back to a specific passage; but I want to hone my skill of connecting God’s revealing principles to the everyday tasks of life, and then rejoice in God! The goal isn’t necessarily to figure out if something is right or wrong, but rather to use life as a springboard to worship and mediate on the glory of the one eternal God.
Make a spiritual connection.
Back to the curious beverage…I read the label and the word “vitality” was written above the name of the drink. A quick trip to Google confirmed my verbal suspicions. One definition of “vitality” is “the peculiarity distinguishing the living from the nonliving;” another definition referenced “enduring and having a lively and animated character”.
My mind right away went to Jesus’ offer of living water in John 4:13-14
“Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
The life giving nature of God compared to water is fascinating. We need water, water is life (especially in the desert). In addition, we all long for that energy, that lift to motivate us and help us focus and ultimately endure throughout each day (hence our affection for caffeine). I started to think about the temporary lift and refreshment that caffeinated water gives me; I started to rejoice comparing it to the eternal life I have in Christ. I was drinking the spiked water at this time; but, well after the lift of 45mg of caffeine (and the guilt of being sucked into a marketing ploy) had left me, the eternal truth of God’s love remained.
The more that I meditate on Christ and his eternal life giving nature, His eternal purity and holiness, His finished work on the cross (representing true vitality – the true distinction between life and non-life)…the more motivation, energy and focus that I have to live the life He has set before me. A life of worship, endurance and true vitality found only in Him.
Who in their right mind would drink caffeinated water?? I would (and did) and was reminded of the superior and eternal life giving water of Christ. I hope and pray that, today, you have or find the opportunity to direct your mind toward God and worship.
