One of my favorite stories from my playing days as a Husker football player was hearing George Sullivan (Sully) talk about how he invented Gatorade. Most people think the drink that quenched the thirst of decades of athletes was first developed by the Florida Gators. In 1964 (the year before Gatorade was invented), Sully claimed that a doctor from the University of Florida stole the idea from him. Sullivan was the trainer and informed the doctor about his drink; salt pills and flavoring from Kool-Aid were added to the cup of water. He called the product Huskerade. Until the end of his life, he would say, “In my heart, I know I had a part in Gatorade.” Huskerade was never developed.

Jeremiah 25, 29 – Divine Justice

God used the imagery of a cup in Jeremiah to describe His wrath that all the wicked nations would receive as punishment. That same imagery is used in Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion: “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will!” (Matthew 26:39).

When Jesus went to the cross, He drank the cup of God’s wrath, taking all sin of humankind on Himself to satisfy God’s divine justice. Jesus said that the cup symbolized the “New Covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). The cup is also used as a symbol of God’s wrath in several other instances in the Old Testament. It’s also used as a symbol for enduring God’s wrath in Revelation 14:9-10 and 16:19.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete know how deeply God loves them because He gave His Son, Jesus, as the ultimate sacrifice. He experienced God’s wrath and separation (Matthew 27:46) on the cross, taking all sin of humankind on Himself.

Bible Memory Verse – “For I know the plans I have for you; declares Yahweh, ‘plans for peace and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11  (LSB)