96. The Natural Sponge

When placed in a bowl of water, the natural sponge absorbs the water. You are a sponge. Be careful what you take into your soul.

As human beings, we tend to absorb the ideas, worldviews, and behaviors of the people in our environment. Through our education system, exposure to the various forms of media, and relationships, we can easily and unknowingly soak up foreign beliefs that sound reasonable, but prove false, if we are not careful. If you are not watchful and discerning, you may begin to adopt a primarily ideological or political way of thinking and believing, whether the perspective is liberal, progressive, or conservative. You may unintentionally replace your spiritual, theological mindset with whatever popular ideology the society considers acceptable or a particular group advocates. The more of this ideology you absorb and the more the like-minded people around you reinforce it, the more that ideology seems good, normal, and obviously “common sense.”

Immerse yourself in the whole Life of the Church. Fill your mind with the Holy Scripture, the wisdom of the Fathers, and the stories of the lives of the Saints. Place yourself in the company of serious Orthodox believers whose advice and example are worth receiving. In your heart, pray to Christ so that you may draw more Grace and make friends of the Saints so that their company and intercessions may benefit your soul. Remember, you are not called to be like the people of the world, but to be in the world as a member of the Life-Giving Church and, as such, an ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven. To carry the Holy Tradition for your own salvation and the salvation of others is your purpose and destiny. If you are like others, soaking up dirty, polluted water, what can you offer them, who need purification and healing?

When one removes a sponge from fresh, clean water and squeezes it, the retained water is released. May the knowledge, wisdom, and Grace you receive within the Church flow out to purify the perspectives of others. Be a part of the Church’s work to wash impurities away from the eyes (of the heart) and to cleanse the hands (that is, the actions) of the people around us.

Keep the sign of the sponge in mind also with regard to nurturing children. If you are a parent, be an example to your children. Provide a nurturing home environment of prayer and virtue where Holy Scripture is read, the stories of the Saints are told, and the challenges of living as an Orthodox Christian in the world is openly discussed. Ensure that your children spend as much time participating in the worship of the Church as possible, receive a serious formative Orthodox education, learn to give generously, build strong, lasting relationships with fellow believers, and find their places in the ministry of the Church. If you are a Godparent or simply a member of the parish community, act as an example for young believers to follow. Do whatever you can to ensure that the parish exists as a spiritual academy where youth become competently trained adults who know how to live boldly as faithful Orthodox believers in a secular world.

Read: John 17.6-26; James 4.8; Hebrews 9.14