Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Me as a Soaked, Seeping Sponge

[via]

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, 
but for him who died for them and was raised again." 
-2 Corinthians 5:15

At church on Sunday the pastor gave an amazing message about the radical love of Christ and the way we, as His children, are called, asked to love as He did, radically. He went on to illustrate the way the character of a Christian is revealed through the toughest of tribulations we face. 

He said, "When life gets tight and we are squeezed, what comes out of us?" 

Being a kitchen loving gal, I could only think of my pretty pink sponges. When I'm done cleaning the kitchen and the sponge is water logged, I am sure to squeeze out the excess water so it doesn't get stinky. Sometimes, I'm surprised at the color of the liquid that spews from it's pores. For example, today I roasted beets. That magenta color they are known for leaked out onto my counter, so I wiped it up thinking nothing of it. After dinner, I squeezed hot pink water from my pink sponge, a pleasant surprise. But sometimes, nasty brown water comes out. And I want to puke knowing that dirtiness came from my seemingly clean counters. 

I found myself wondering, when life squeezes me out to make sure I don't get stinky inside, does something pretty and pink come from inside me as a result of my loving self, or does brown nastiness spew out grossing out others (and myself)? 

With the grace of God, I am working towards the pretty pink liquid, spewing out love and grace, mercy and patience, self-control and gratitude when life calls for anything but such lovely things. It's not easy, in fact, I'm sure if you squeezed me tight enough right now something closer to brown would flow from deep within me, but I'm trying and, for me, that works. God doesn't need my pretty and pink, but He asks me to work towards it in order to glorify the great works He is baking within my little soul. 

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "yes" in Christ. 
And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."
-2 Corinthians 1:20

What would be squeezed out of your sweet spongey self? 
Is it pretty and pink? Or stinky and dirty like me?

8 comments:

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

I think everyday something different rings out. Somedays are darker than others, and that's ok. The important thing is to keep squeezing, you get cleaner every time!

gwynne said... Best Blogger Tips

Great post Amber and you're beautiful because God created you/us in His image. True though that we all need a little 'wringing out' now and then as we need a gentle reminder to be pure and of clean spirit. I love how you study the word and apply it to everyday life-everyday!

Love you :)

Britt @ The Adventures of Josh and Britt said... Best Blogger Tips

Amber-
You always write the most encouraging posts. I always "walk away" from your blog feeling encouraged and blessed. This is a great reminder of how much we need God. I sure as heck don't want to be stinky inside! :) Happy Wednesday friend!!

Mrs.G said... Best Blogger Tips

Great way to look at it:)

Great post as usual and as usual gave me something to think about!

cup named grace said... Best Blogger Tips

you nailed it baby!

Tracy said... Best Blogger Tips

definitely a good analogy! a sad reality to realize that our reactions are just a way of showing us what's in our heart!

Megan said... Best Blogger Tips

Great imagery!! I love the way you took your pastor's words and were able to apply it to a way that was meaningful to your life. Hopefully your post will cause us all to think about what's coming from us.

Mrs.G said... Best Blogger Tips

I gave you a award on my last post:)