Be the Coffee Bean
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:21 (NIV)
Imagine this: you have three pots of boiling water on a stove. Into the first pot, you place an egg. Into the second, a potato. Into the third, coffee beans.
Each ingredient faces the same circumstance — boiling water — yet each responds differently.
The egg goes in soft, fragile, with a liquid center. But the heat makes it hard on the inside.
The potato enters firm and strong. But the boiling water makes it soft and weak.
The coffee bean? It doesn’t just react — it transforms its environment. It changes the water itself into something rich, aromatic, and new.
Life has a way of turning up the heat — disappointment, loss, stress, criticism, betrayal. The boiling water is inevitable. But the question is: How do you respond when life turns up the temperature?
Some of us become hardened, like the egg — closing off our hearts, building walls, losing our tenderness. Others become like the potato — weakened, discouraged, defeated. But God calls us to be like the coffee bean.
When God’s love fills our hearts, we are not victims of our circumstances. We are agents of change. We don't let the heat define us — we define what happens in the heat. Instead of growing hard or soft, we infuse the world around us with the sweet aroma of Christ’s love, grace, and truth.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-14 that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. That means we are not just called to survive hardship — we are called to influence it, change it, and redeem it through Him.
So today, no matter what you’re walking through, choose to be the coffee bean.
Let your kindness soften hearts.
Let your forgiveness break chains.
Let your peace calm the chaos.
Let your faith spark hope.
Let your love reflect the One who first loved you.
Prayer:
Father, life brings challenges that test my heart and spirit. Help me not to become hardened by pain or weakened by pressure. Instead, make me like the coffee bean — someone who brings change, hope, and love into every room I enter. Use me to transform the world around me for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
