Last week, I posted an article titled “Refill.” I emphasised the importance of continually refilling our lives with the Word and Spirit. I made some analogies regarding the items we refill today, such as our cars, bottles, and canisters. By now, we may realise again that every container or vessel has its own use, and what we put into them matters.
This week, the question on my mind for believers is, “What are we filling up on? What is going into our vessels (vessels here meaning our spirit, soul, mind, heart, body)?”
As thirsty as we can be, we wouldn’t drink oil to quench our thirst. Oil wasn’t made to quench the thirst.
Filling up the petrol tank is essential for the car. In fact, many of us hate driving on an empty or half-tank. We always want to have enough petrol. Just because we’re too tired or lazy to stop at a petrol station, or indifferent about what goes into the tank, doesn’t mean we would fill it with sand, engine oil, water or cereal. We already know the outcomes of doing that.
The same goes for those of us who are big on storing dry food. When we return from the store with our grains, cereals, etc., we are careful to pour each one into the designated containers. Some of us have our canisters labelled. We wouldn’t for a second decide to mix our rice and cereals in one container, no matter how much we love the taste of both.
Health or fitness enthusiasts are quite cautious about what they put into their meals or mouths. Not every food and drink makes it to their shelves, pots and shakers. A lot of them study food labels and count calories.
If we can be this careful with the externals, I believe serious-minded believers have a responsibility to be mindful of what we consume—food or drink.
2 Peter 1:5-9 NIV says;
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
I do not have time in this short article to expand on the above scripture. However, the few things I want to say are: there’s an intentionality (“intentional” is a buzzword today; in Paul’s day, we could have said “earnestly”) and effort involved in applying these virtues to our lives daily.
How do we do that?
We must draw near to God through the Word and prayer, consciously carving out ample time to seek Him alone. As we abide in Him, He will pour His life and Spirit into us. It’s only as we press into Him that we would be pouring into our vessels the ability to stay patient in an impatient world. It’s in Him we learn love, peace, joy and more. These virtues and disciplines keep our vessels cleansed and nourished. You can never say you poured in these virtues five years ago and don’t need to do so again. It is a daily thing to keep drinking of the Spirit of life.
We find in today’s world many things that discourage us from abiding and filling up on the life of the Spirit. The world normalises certain behaviours and patterns to the detriment of our spiritual walk.
There’s so much “junk” to fill up on at short notice. We have been handed over certain terms like binging and getting hooked on things that add very little value to us. We find ourselves binge-watching, binge-reading, etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with watching or reading books, but when we get hooked on things to the point where we lose control, we inadvertently fill up our vessels with them, and these things form our habits, actions, conduct, and lifestyle. Too many externals, entertainment and fun make us lose spiritual sensitivity. Binge-watching and binging as a whole is the thief of time and desire to be with Father God. We shouldn’t permit externals to define us.
In Ephesians 5:18 ESV, Paul says;
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…”
Getting drunk with wine can mean many things to us today. It can be a warning against too much alcohol consumption. It can also mean not getting intoxicated with entertainment and the like.
“To be filled with the Spirit” will require many sacrifices from us, which includes the use of our time. Yes, our time. Our lives can often be overwhelmed by excessive screen time, including social media, TV, novels, laptops and more. Even though we also need a dose of this entertainment, too much of these things makes us spiritually dull. We start to look like a mix of oil and water.
Some of us are careful (in our daily routines) to avoid eating certain foods that offer little nutritional benefit or are harmful to our bodies and health. Then, we must be even more discerning about our spiritual lives.
To grow and mature as spiritual men and women, we must make sacrifices. This often requires cutting back on or completely removing things that consume our time. You will not be filled with the Spirit if you do not give time and attention to seek the Lord and spend time in the secret place.
I’ll stop here today. See you again next week. Thank you for reading.
(photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@oandersonrian)
