Food For Thought

My life as a sponge

The process of life is amazing. During the nine months in our mother's womb, we form our personality and habits to create our individuality. However, throughout our lifetime the issues and problems of the world often distract us. The love, the hate, the good and the bad. Little do we realize, all that energy, good and bad, is being absorbed inside of us.

As strange as it may seem, a sponge shares a similar processes of the human life. For example, we use a sponge to help us keep things clean. When we are finished, we fill the sponge with soap and water, and then rinse it out. This process helps to clean the inside and the outside of the sponge so it can be used again. However, when we are not careful or in a hurry, we may fail to clean the sponge properly. This allows for germs and bacteria to form inside. So, when it is time to use the sponge again the water may appear clean, however; you may experience a bad smell.

As we walk through our Christian life, we try to follow the examples of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We attend services, read our bibles, and talk to as many people (who will listen) about how wonderful Christ is to us. All that positive energy is being absorbed inside of us daily. However, we still live in this world and there are times when we get angry and discouraged. We say things about others and let things others say about us absorb inside of us. We allow negative speech to enter into our vocabulary. We also say things that hurt or offend others without realizing it. And often times we feel justified and fail to apologize to the person we offended. When we get away with saying or doing something to others, it becomes a part of who we are.

The public sees us as the Christians we profess to be. However, it is not what is on the outside that matters; it is what is in our hearts inside of us that count. For example, how do you react when something goes wrong? When a car cuts you off in traffic, do you give the person an inappropriate hand gesture and call them a name we should only hear on late night television? When someone says something offensive to you, do you respond by saying something even more offensive to them?

Like the process of a sponge, we have the opportunity to cleanse ourselves. Every time we offend or say something negative about someone, we can cleanse ourselves by apologizing and repenting for the things we said and did. If we fail to apologize or repent, we soon begin to allow a negative spirit to live inside of us, like the bacteria and germs living inside a dirty sponge. Similar to water, our repentance when used consistently and with a pure heart, can cleanse us to do God's Will over and over again.

Felicia Eaton, August 2007

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