Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee?

A young woman once went to her grandmother and told her about the difficulties of her life and the hardships she was facing. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling—whenever one problem was solved, a new one seemed to pop up.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen, where she filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. In the first pot, she placed carrots; in the second, she placed eggs; and in the last, she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and into a bowl.

Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” the young woman replied. Her grandmother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. Her grandmother then asked the granddaughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, her grandmother asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma, then asked, “What does it mean, grandmother?”

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unbending—but after being subjected to the boiling water, it weakened. The egg had been fragile; its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. But the coffee was quite different—in reacting to the boiling water, it changed the water itself.

“Which are you?” her grandmother asked.

This is an excellent question we can ask ourselves as we face life and its wide variety of challenges. As we do so, we should also consider these powerful examples from scripture.

From birth, the hero Samson was set apart as a Nazirite destined to begin Israel’s deliverance from the Philistines. As an adult, he allowed his selfish passions to control him, weaken him, and enslave him. The once resilient Samson was weakened and softened by the influence of Delilah.

In Hebrews 3, the Apostle Paul teaches that adversity and testing reveal and shape what we are inside. When the Israelites went into the wilderness, their hearts were hardened by unbelief, grumbling, and refusal to heed God’s voice. The chapter warns Christians not to respond to trials this way, but to encourage one another daily so that hardship does not harden our hearts into a state of unbelief, shutting us out of God’s rest.

The question then is, will we allow our environment to weaken our character or harden our hearts? Or will we make a difference in the world around us, despite the ever-present trials of life?

Just as the coffee transforms the boiling water, a Christian is called to transform their environment by the example they set, especially in unpleasant circumstances. Christians are to permeate their surroundings with Christlike character and good works, for Jesus Christ calls His followers to be the salt of the earth and the lights of the world (Matthew 5:13–16). As our lives “add flavor” and “shine,” we will bring glory to our Father in heaven.

The storms of life will come! Only those who choose to build their life on the word of God will be able to persevere and not be weakened or hardened. Today, you could be the person who, while everyone else is bitter and critical, smiles and spreads encouragement. To be “the coffee beans,” we need to always hold fast to this hope of the true Gospel, the tremendous understanding of our ultimate destiny.

To learn about your potential future in changing the world for the better, read online or order our free resource What Is the Meaning of Life?