My New French Press!

For my birthday that recently passed, my nephew Matthew bought me a French press coffee maker. Last weekend I got to use it for the first time and found that it was a totally different and awesome coffee-making experience. I’ve perked coffee (which I find a bit too weak) and I’ve dripped coffee (which is how I usually make my coffee). I have also made cappuccinos and espressos with an espresso maker. But I had never used a French press.  And, let me say, the coffee came out muy rico—i.e. delicious!  (Of course, it might have been the beans from Hawaii that helped!)

As you might guess, the main event in making coffee with a French press is, the pressing.  After the hot water is poured over the ground coffee beans, which then sit for about four minutes, the “press” is pushed down through the water and coffee mixture such that the ground beans are pushed to the bottom and their flavor forced into the water. And…oi la! You now have your pot of coffee!  You see, the pressing is the key to getting the flavor out of the coffee beans. It’s the pressure exerted on the beans that causes the water to become a deliciously rich and aromatic pot of coffee. 

My new French press!

I’m sure you’ve felt as I have at times: as if you're living your life in a French press—i.e. under all kinds of pressure.  There’s the pressure to earn a living, to take care of your family, to perform, to achieve, to please the people around you. Sometimes it’s the pressure to just survive. We feel the pressure other people put on us, as well as the pressure that we put on ourselves. Add to that, all the situations and circumstances that press upon us. To be honest, sometimes it can become exhausting.  None of us likes living life as if we’re the coffee beans in a French press; none of us likes living life under pressure.

The Apostle Paul describes the kinds of pressure he experienced in his life when he wrote of being “hard pressed…perplexed…persecuted…struck down.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – NIV) He knew what it meant to endure illness, to have people criticize him, and to be outright attacked. He endured a life of great pressure. Yet, as he wrote about the pressures of his life, he also said that he was, “not crushed…not in despair…not abandoned…not destroyed.”  He wrote of “…being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body” He went on to say, “So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” (vs. 11-12). In other words, Paul not only endured and survived the pressures of life, but he found meaning in them—meaning for both his own life and for the lives of those whom he served. In the end, he knew that through all the pressures of life, God was at work to bring about something good.

When we find ourselves under pressure, let’s not lose hope.  Instead, let’s believe that, like the aroma of the coffee coming from my French press, the life of Christ— “the aroma of Christ” (Corinthians 2:15)—will rise from our lives bringing blessing to many people around us. And, let’s remember that God loves us and is always with us through all the pressing that life might bring our way. 

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris