And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Ephesians 5:18
I got a bag of water balloons the other day. The picture on the bag showed a balloon bursting, spraying water all over.
So, I gleefully ripped open the bag and flung a red “Water Bomb” at the nearest heathen, but to my everlasting disappointment, no baptism took place. Just a whimpy little “whap” and then it flopped to the floor.
OK, I confess! I made that up. Shocking, I know. I don't expect that “balloon baptizing” will really catch on, but think how much fun it would be to show up at a community gathering and convert the whole crowd!
Did you ever notice how a balloon acts differently, depending on what it's filled with? If you don't put anything in it, it's like a rubber band, stretchy if not useful, having potential only. If you fill it with water, you are overcome with a Spirit of Mischief, and can't wait to find a victim. If you blow it up with your own hot air, it makes a fine toy for the young'un in you, to bat around or rub on your head to stick to the wall with static electricity. If left alone, it falls to the floor of it's own weight, and if not popped will eventually wilt down.
But put helium in it, and it soars to the heavens.
Balloons, then, are containers of potentiality, just like you and me. Filled with nothing, we are just colorful bits of decoration. Fill us with earthly liquids (like wine, see above), and we become explosive and dangerous. Filled with hot air, we might bob around playfully for awhile, then fall to earth. But fill us with the living Spirit of God, and we become high-flying, heaven-bound adventurers. Which would you rather be? Judging by the way the Scripture verse is worded, we have the ability to decide what we are going to be filled with. It might be important to note that others will be able to tell which choice we've made, and no picture on the container will affect their perception.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Corinthians 3:17
