The other day, someone was talking about a friend of mine, Bill, remarking that once he got introduced to the Gospel, he “soaked it up like a sponge.” My mind drifted off (as it is prone to do) thinking through the image of a sponge.
We all understand the metaphor. A dry sponge dropped in liquid soaks up as much as it can hold as quickly as it can.
I began thinking of the sponge in the context of Bill and his introduction to Christ. I did not know him when he first met Jesus, but knowing him as I do now I imagine the sponge is a very appropriate metaphor. But my mind kept traveling with the metaphor, and the image began to break down.
A sponge has a capacity. At some point, it has no ability to soak up any more liquid even though much remains unabsorbed. That was not the case with Bill. Bill has an insatiable thirst for all things biblical and all things related to Jesus. He has been soaking and soaking and his capacity appears unapproachable.
And then it hit me. The metaphor does work in Bill’s situation. When a sponge gets full, what is left over begins to spill out around it. It is true for Bill and it is true for me. When I get filled with a well-delivered message, it spills out into my actions and conversations. I spill it all over those close to me. One of the first places these learning experiences spill out is right here on McBurnett’s Musings.
But the parallels don’t stop there. When you squeeze a sponge, two things happen. First, what it has absorbed flows out, and second it frees up capacity allowing the sponge to tackle the next challenge, which is why Bill’s capacity never fills.
So it is with our learning and growing in Christ.
I hope that is what you experience as you squeeze me via these McBurnett’s Musings.
Awash in the glory of God,
Robert
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