And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42 KJV)
The war clouds were spreading across the colonies. In the summer of 1778, one of the British regiments tried to leave Philadelphia for New York. Near Monmouth, New Jersey, General Washington’s army tried to stop them. As the armies exchanged fire, "Molly Pitcher", also known as Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, brought her husband’s troops water. Her husband was firing a canon when British fire killed him. Molly stepped in and took over his canon.
The British escaped to New York, but they knew they were in a real war. The story of "Molly Pitcher", so named because she brought the soldiers water, tells of some of the pitfalls and rewards in fighting for a cause. Christians are in a spiritual war with Satan. The tenth chapter of Matthew contains the instructions Christ gave to his disciples. The principles in this chapter serve as our field manual.
Molly was focused on the defeating the British. If the troops needed water, she would bring water. If taking over her husband’s canon would help, she was there. The main task was to defeat the British. She stayed focused on her mission. Christ told his disciples to preach a simple message. The message they preached was straightforward, the kingdom of God was at hand. They did not allow themselves to become distracted. Today our message should be simple and direct, salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We can start different ministries; however, salvation through faith in Christ should be the ultimate aim of any ministry. Otherwise, it is only nothing more than a social program. It might improve a person’s life here, but will not do anything for them in eternity. The good works of the social gospel are inept without the message of faith in Christ.
There will always be those who oppose the message. They will want to add to, or take away from the Gospel. Christ never promised harmony with the world. He warned that the true gospel message might cause division among friends and families. When it looks like the government tries to prevent the gospel from being preached, we should not be surprised. We should remember the opposition we face sometimes in our country is nothing compared to the opposition others have face abroad. Molly faced the gunshots of the British, and we will face the sniper fire of the world. In the face of opposition, we should never lose sight of the fact that God is still in control.
Besides keeping the message simple and the promise of opposition, Christ also told his disciples they would receive rewards. Today the church has forgotten the message of rewards in Heaven. Today’s sermons call for us to stop at the cross, but Christ beckons us to go beyond the cross and follow Him. Today we hear the promise of blessings in this life, but fail to hear about the rewards in Heaven. God’s love is priceless. His grace should be enough for us to surrender our lives to Him, but God promises us more, because of our support of God’s kingdom here, we will clip coupons for eternity in Heaven.
Molly Pitcher was faithful to the cause of the American army; we should be faithful to the cause of Christ. In the end, she received an extra pension for her efforts. If we are faithful in giving a cup of water, God may use us in other ways. We should always live with eternity in mind. Serving Christ is not always easy, but is worth the effort. In God's economy of grace, nothing is overlooked, not even a cup of water.
