Richard, one of the leaders at Orchard Baptist, introduced me to a cool colour changing trick. He used celery leaves and placed one in ordinary water and the other in water with red food colouring. The second one had red leaves after a period of time as the food colouring had a transformational effect. In the picture, the carnation’s stem has been spliced in two and put in different water sources and you can see the effect on each half . (You can see step by step instructions for how to do this in the video below).
What we receive affects who we are becoming. When we receive the Holy Spirit, the things of God and the Bible then we become more like the people who God created us to be. When we fill ourselves with other things then we become like them. These other things can be things that are obviously wrong such as sinful acts or addictions, but they can also be things that are just time-consuming.
One thing that can take a lot of our time is TV and it is worth pausing to consider what effect this has on us. What do we watch and does it do us any good? One of the indicators that my relationship with God is healthy is that when I watch TV that I still have thoughts of God. See some examples in the film section of my blog. I have a sense of watching with God rather than something to do to escape and switch off from everything else. Watching with God means I enjoy what is good with Him and am also challenged to turn off or over at times as things that are not helpful are on. Even in the ordinary things of life, God can and wants to be involved with us, but will we choose to let Him?
When we consider what influences us I wonder if we are like the carnation, that we are actually trying to be full of God and also to hold on to things that are not of Him at the same time? If so, how can we become more open to God’s presence and truth whilst letting go of the other stuff.
In the picture below, what has made this tree strong? What are we rooted in?
Instructions on how to make a carnation change colour:
