“Love not the world, neither the things in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” I John 2:15

This morning we awoke to an unintentional silence. If you didn’t live here everyday, you would never have noticed. But we do! And the absence of a particular sound that we have grown fond of, was disconcerting to say the least. One that needed immediate correction!

We have had a fountain beside our house for years! Several in fact. Over the years, the sight and sound of a fountain has grown on us. So much so that Katie sits opposite it every morning as she spends time with God. She can see and hear it through the sliding glass door as the sound soothes her spirit. That is, until this morning!

There are 3 spouts to our fountain, which makes the sound even more pronounced. Over time, they need to be ‘greased up’ so that the water will be repelled and easily flow through them. I use petroleum jelly. An oily grease that allows the water to slip right through and flow into the pot below. Thus…making the sound.

It may sound strange, but water and painted cement kinda-sorta mix. Eventually, the channels in the spouts get funky, moldy and collect stuff that impedes the water’s flow. As it does this, water spews in different directions and basically dumps out on the ground, emptying the fountain of water. It takes the oil to ‘slick it up’ again and keep the water doing what it is supposed to be doing.

In the Bible, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. I know God Personally, because I know His Son Jesus Christ. That means I ALSO know the Holy Spirit. When I apply God’s Word to my life, the Holy Spirit uses it to ‘slippery up’ my life so that the worldly water has a harder time sticking to me. Biblically, oil and joy are words that are also synonymous.

I like the sound my life makes, on the inside, when I am oily for Him. When I don’t notice the absent sound of God’s action in my life, or when I lose my joy, it is easy to get caught up in worldly things that only clog up my spirit and make me useless to Him and His purpose. Since we have been together for a very long time, it is easier to notice when things aren’t working as they should, and reach for the Oil!

So.. how worldly repellent are YOU?