Google news reported that what a Romanian lady used for decades as a doorstop in her bedroom turned out to be a 7.7 pound chunk of amber. Surviving relatives, suspecting it may not have been a common rock, had it appraised after her death in 1991. Estimated value–just north of $1 million. Amber is an organic gemstone composed of fossilized resin or tree sap. Sap seals the bark of a tree and traps pests.
Sap performs other essential functions. In the xylem system of the tree it moves water and nutrients from roots to leaves to fuel the process of photosynthesis. Sap in the tree’s phloem system delivers sugars produced by photosynthesis from leaves to roots. Just try to convince me the universe has no Intelligent Designer!
In Scripture sap symbolizes spiritual life and flourishing. Psalm 92:14 says the righteous “will still yield fruit in old age, they shall be full of sap and very green.” I trust that can be said of this 75 -year-old blogger. It will be so so if I avail myself of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is He who communicates the life of the risen Christ to the believer, enabling him to live a fruitful, flourishing life of obedience and service.
My relationship with the Holy Spirit must be properly maintained–which is to say I must yield to His control over my actions, thoughts and words. When I pray, “Lord, set a watch before my lips,” as I do in many social settings in which I find myself, He will control my tongue. When I have an opportunity to speak for/about Christ and pray, “Lord, open my mouth,” I can be confident He will enable me to overcome fear and doubt. When, surfing the web, I come upon some image I know I must not linger over and pray, “Lord, by your grace, I will not go back there,” He gives me the ability to carry out that resolution.
There is no magical formula for being filled with the Spirit. It has everything to do with the degree to which I consciously submit to His control. Herein lies the secret to peace, joy and the development of Christ-like character.
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