Lessons from a dirty car

It snowed here. In fact we got close to six inches in this last snowfall. As I drive around I see all these dirty cars, but every once in a while, one will drive by that has obviously very recently been at the car wash.

What I know about this person is that it will not be long before their car is going to be in need of another washing. In fact, during this season and in these weather conditions, you will need to be cleaning your car regularly if you intend to have it look nice.

What happens for most people though is they just give up the fight. It is too expensive, too time-consuming and too much effort to continually keep washing your vehicle when it is like this. And that is why it is only about every 8th or 9th car you see that will actually be clean.

There is an interesting verse in Ephesians 5...verse 18, Paul says, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit" (ESV)

The word used in that text translated "be filled" is the Greek word "pleeroústhe" which carries with it an interesting idea. This is a word in Greek that is present tense...which denotes it is an on-going action. So being filled...happens not just once, but all the time.

If I am going to be filled with God's presence, then it is an action that is continual, on-going. It takes effot, it takes time, it is expensive even. In fact, washing your car is a lot like this.

Sometimes we go through seasons in our lives where we really don't need to worry about washing the car. The weather is decent, we are mindful of puddles when we drive and our car stays relatively clean with little maintenance on our part.

But other seasons, like winter, are horrible for trying to keep your car clean. It is seemingly a losing battle at times.

That's life. There are times when staying close to God is easy as pie. It is like driving on a sunny day. There's nothing too hard with being close to Him. There are other times though, when the storms of life hit and staying close to God (washing our car) is the last thing we want to do. Why even try? It is too much work, takes too much time and is too costly to me personally.

That word, "pleeroústhe" carries with it the idea of a sponge being immersed into a bucket of water. While the sponge is in the water, it is completely filled but the moment you take it out, it starts to lose the water. The only way for the sponge to stay filled all the time is to stay in the bucket...but what good is a sponge that stays in a bucket full of water.

It is only when it is being used to wash something else that the sponge really serves it's purpose.

We are like the sponge. When we are completely immersed in God's presence and His Word then we are "filled with His Spirit." But the moment we are removed from those arenas, we are losing the source which fills us up.

But we have to, to be useful, be out of those arenas from time to time. Bottom line...it takes energy, effort and personal cost to keep yourself filled with His presence. It is a lot like trying to keep your car clean in the dead of winter!