October 26, 2009
"You pour oil on my head.
My cup runs over.
I am sure that your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life."
Psalm 23:5b-6a
I
don't understand some sports. Well, really. I don't understand most
sports. It really isn't my strong suit. I really don't understand what
makes some sports appealing to watch. One of the ones I really don't
get? Boxing. Two men get in a ring and fight on purpose. They punch
each other and make each other bleed….and people cheer and scream and
think it is exciting.
I don't get it.
I did learn something
new tonight, however, as I was sitting here blogging while my husband
watched the sport in question. I learned that boxers put Vaseline on
their face before the fight. Why? Apparently to lessen the impact of
the punch as the opponent's glove slides off their face.
Hmmm…..
It
got me thinking. I LOVE the relationships shown throughout Scripture of
the natural to the spiritual. One such illustration is that oil is used
to represent the Holy Spirit. Oil was used to fill the lampstand in the
tabernacle, that was to be forever kept burning and never put out. It
represented our continual need for the Holy Spirit. People were
anointed with oil to show that God had a special purpose for them, or
when they were being prayed over for healing.
So if we think
through this in the spiritual, what happens when we are "greased" down
with the Holy Spirit and someone throws a punch at us? The enemy's
glove slides off!
That is how we can tolerate the hatred of the
world, friends! That is how we can keep our confidence in the Lord
while being bombarded with insults. Because we let the Holy Spirit
grease us down. He makes us slick, so the attacks slide off.
With your kids…
Consider doing something with your kids that will illustrate these concepts to them.
Talk about how when we belong to Jesus, the Holy Spirit seals us up
like a waterproof coating. Others can say mean things to us or hurt our
feelings, but Jesus will help it slide right off if we let Him. We can
keep forgiving and loving people because Jesus is the one that loves
us. It is okay if others don't always show us love. We can give them
some of our extra, because Jesus gives us more than we need.
by Angela Gifford
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