Balloons have an interesting characteristic. They only perform the job they’re designed to do when placed under a great deal of pressure.
When it’s relaxed and at ease, a balloon is no more than a piece of latex, and it slips and slides between our fingers, taking the shape of whatever holds it. We can poke it into a hole, twist it into a knot, and stretch it to the breaking point. The balloon lets us do whatever we want. It has no backbone, no principles, and certainly no firm shape of its own.
Yet, fill the balloon up, and everything changes. That jam-packed wad of latex can decorate a party, bringing bright and festive colors to the scene, and lift everyone’s spirits. It can be part of a game, where participants chase the balloons or attempt to pop them one at a time. Even gifts can be delivered inside a balloon, allowing the recipient to pop the taut, transparent film to get at what’s inside.
Fill a balloon with the correct gases, and it can float to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, gathering weather data that helps predict storms and ensures the protection of human life.
We can’t forget the iconic water balloon. Filled with liquid, and stretched to the bursting point, it’s a game toy like no other. When we join in a water balloon fight, we go all out for fun, and there’s no better time to be had.
If we never put the balloon under pressure, it’s good for none of these, no matter how beautiful it might be otherwise.
Solomon 4:16 winds up a passage telling of the shepherd’s love for his beloved.
“Awake, O north wind; and come, you south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.”
The garden is already prepared, yet it is like a package of balloons. The spices and fruit must be brought to completion, or they can never be enjoyed. The winds in the passage will bring forth the beauty of the garden, as they encourage the plants inside to come to maturity. Only when they are fully ripe and under pressure will they burst forth in all their goodness.
We are that garden. We are limp balloons until the Lord fills us up. And, just like that scrap of limp latex, we will be under pressure when we are at our best for him. Our goodness and beauty will flow out only when we are mature in Christ, filled up with all he wishes to do through us, and he bursts from us to flow across every facet of everything we touch.
Living life under pressure? Bah! We are at our best under pressure, especially when that pressure comes directly from living life with our Lord.
We must be water balloons for Jesus, ready to shower goodness on everyone we bump into.
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Code: FGO.E.23.15b.vp.esv