A Dried Up Sponge

Taking delight in the gift that is the Sabbath, blessed rest is found in conversation with a friend.

Our wives are out and about doing wife things while we are at home doing husband things.

Things like changing the oil on the Volvo and marinating deer steaks.

It's a beautiful scene; for the most part.

In the kitchen sink, dishes are perched precariously upon one another like middle-school girls at a Justin Bieber concert. But the smell is more reminiscent of a middle-school boys bathroom. Food is plastered to plates and everything is speckled with yesterdays coffee grounds.

The last thing I want to do is pick up the sponge squished at the bottom of the mess.

Much to my surprise, it is the very act of grabbing that sponge that will shape the day.

After verbalizing the reality that this monotonous chore has created the perfect platform for a heart deep conversation; my friend gets real with me.

Commenting on what it's like when he spends time with Jesus reading the Bible and praying I hear him say this: 

"I'm like a dried up sponge. When I actually take time to read the Bible, I soak up so much."

With my hands immersed in the sink, scrubbing a pan with Herculean strength in a feeble attempt to get week-old eggs off stainless steal; I stop. My furled eyebrows relax. The splashing sink becomes a placid pool. As my grip releases, the sponge I'm holding expands along with my lungs. All of this causes me to smile.

It's a moment of grace.

The Eternal One is in the kitchen with us.

We dodge the potential condemnation and cling to Christ's compassion.

The fact that my friend noticed he's like a sponge (dried up or not) is the important part.

He sees reality. He sees potential. He sees himself. He sees Jesus.

All too often we beat ourselves up because we feel like a dried up sponge. Jesus doesn't show up saying to us "Figure it out first, you're a dirty old dried up sponge. I need a bright, new Scotch Brite scrubber." No. He says "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

That's an invitation for the dried up sponge to soak up His water.

To realize that we are nothing more than a dried up sponge is to view ourselves correctly in terms of God's relentless pursuit of people with His overflowing, unceasing grace to absorb His living water.

Whether you've spent time soaking up God's word or you're a dried up sponge, come to Jesus as you are and be at home in the embrace of His nail pierced hands.