A Shot of Bourbon & An Outpouring of Grace

Okay, I'll admit it - Sometimes I do like to shock people. Thanks to my friend, Roger, for sending me this one :)

It was Christmas Eve and the biting cold had driven two well dressed men into the street side city bar. One man was the highly respected County Judge, the other the Bishop of the Local Diocese. As the two men pulled up their bar stools they looked through the plate glass bar front window and saw one of the local vagrants shuffling along. He was poorly dressed, obviously cold, dirty, thin and frail. “Poor soul”, the Bishop said, “he probably has no family and no place to go.” The Judge said, “You know its Christmas Eve, I’ll bet he’s like nothing better than a good shot of Bourbon.” After a long pause the Judge continued, “What do say Bishop, Why don’t we invite the old fool in and buy him a drink… after all it’s Christmas Eve.”

The wide eyed Bishop nodded his approval at the suggestion and stepping to the door called out to the homeless man, “Come in, …come in out of the cold we want to buy you a drink.” The astonishing offer stopped the old man dead in his tracks….”get out of the cold”;… someone wants to buy me a drink!?!. He moved through the open door with labored step and positioned himself standing at the end of the bar several stools away from the Judge and Bishop. He didn’t speak. He just stood, head down, waiting for the life giving shot of bourbon that would ease the pain for awhile.

“What will you have Bishop?”, the old bartender asked. “Jack Daniels, neat, one finger”. (That’s bar tender language for one shot of bourbon in a glass with no ice. If you lay one finger horizontally across the bottom of the glass and pour to that level it will be about one shot of liquor.) Next the bar tender faced the Judge, “How about you, your honor. What will the judge have on Christmas Eve?” “You’re right, it is Christmas Eve, and I think I’ll treat myself. I’ll have two fingers of Woodford Reserve (very expensive) neat!”

The bar tender poured their drinks and then turned to vagrant. “What will you have?” The old man just shrugged his shoulders. This Bishop said, “Give him what I have” and the Judge said, “It’s Christmas, make it two fingers!”

The bar tender put the glass on the counter and reached for Blanton’s 1792 Bourbon, the finest bottle in the house. To the amazement of all he poured the glass full to the very top! “My God man! I said TWO FINGERS!!!” and the Bishop added, “…of Jack Daniels!!!” The bar tender smiled and held up two fingers horizontally against the glass and then moved his two fingers vertically showing them running from top to bottom of the glass. Two fingers straight down… a full glass.

Don’t worry gentlemen; this old man’s drink is on me. You bought what you thought you could afford or what you thought you deserved. I gave this broken man what he could never imagine.

The way I understand Christmas is that God so loved us that He gave His only Son as a gift to us. And then He poured out His life for us and His life into us!

Gentlemen that’s two fingers … straight down and it’s very expensive.