( © William H. Anderson, March 16, 2002)

One Saturday he thought he would surprise her by doing the dishes while she was shopping. How hard could it be? When he looked under the sink he only found a small amount of dishwashing soap in the bottle. So he made a quick trip to the store to buy more.

Returning home he filled the sink with the dishes and soap. He had always wondered why the dishes didn't get washed after every meal. Now, he saw it was pretty expensive to wash the dishes. He quickly finished the dishes and waited for her to come home to his surprise.

She came in and was pleased to see that the dishes had been cleaned and put away. To show her appreciation for doing that task she prepared him his favorite meal.
While eating she thanked him for doing the dishes. He then politely said "You're welcome." But, noticed the food had an odd flavor. He asked her about it and she agreed about the taste. It was unusual. She had never had a problem with this meal before.

He then commented on how he only found a small amount of dishwashing soap under the sink and had gone to the store to buy more. He also stated the he now understood why the dishes didn't get washed after every meal. It was a really expensive thing to do. Couldn't they find a way to manufacture a cheaper soap and sell it by the gallon bottles, like he saw bleach come in.

She got this funny look on her face and stopped eating after hearing this comment.

Then she asked him what he meant about the soap being so expensive and why it should be available in gallon bottles. He then got a puzzled look on his face. Surely she knew how expensive the soap was. She is the one who had always bought it. Was she just used to only seeing the small bottles or was she joking with him because he had bought the wrong soap?

He then explained that since it took almost ten bottles of soap to be able to cover the dishes and clean them, surely the soap was available in larger containers. At this point she broke out laughing.

Now he was really puzzled. What was so funny? When she finally calmed down enough to hear him, he asked what was so funny? She then explained to him that the small bottle of soap under the sink would have been more than enough to clean the dishes. He asked how?

She told him, that dishwashing soap came in a super concentrated liquid. He only needed to add a little soap to a sink full of water to clean the dishes. The she explained that the funny taste the food had was the result of the concentrated soap not being completely rinsed off. Then she said she was thankful he had not tried to do the laundry.

How does this apply to Healing The Body of Christ? Good question!

We are the man, the soap is Gods Word and the water is the Holy Spirit. We can sit and read the Bible and study the meanings of the written word without ever asking God for understanding. This is a path many have chosen. Many a person who had been called to the Ministry or to serve God in another capacity have lost their way when they started to concentrate upon mankind's idea of scriptural understanding of the Bible instead of God's understanding through the Holy Spirit. This is something most will deny even exists. It is Death through Academia. There is nothing wrong with accomplishing an advanced study of God's Word and the history it revolves around. I love to study and be able to put the scripture into the context of the day it was written. What glorious revelations God provides when we study His Word with the Holy Spirit there as our interpreter. The Death comes when the pursuit of an academic award and the recognition of man replaces the pursuit of the Calling from God.

We call the Bible "The Living Word" for a reason. It is the super concentrated wisdom of God. Some feel that if they can quote scripture then they are better than others. So we strive to memorize the words. But, just like the soap the man used we fail to grasp how to properly use what we have. When mixed with the Wisdom and Power of the Holy Spirit a little "Holy Word" will go a long way and claim more souls than just quoting the words.

Imagine a Christian telling someone "You must be born again or you will be doomed to live in Hell forever." And that is all they ever say. Haven't you heard them before? They think they are doing God's work just by telling a lost soul that they must be born again. How much more effective would this witness be if they said "Let me tell you about My Jesus and how you can live with Him forever."? Both ways are scriptural. But, one is concentrated and the other has the Holy Spirit in it.

 God's Word is Living because it is super concentrated. There can never be enough books written to explore and explain everything in God's Word. No Christian, Minister, Teacher or Deacon could ever read a scripture the same way they had read it the first time. As we grow, study and prepare ourselves for God our perception and understanding is constantly changing to match our Spiritual Maturity. Plus, the Holy Spirit constantly reveals new meanings and applications to those who study in prayer.

 How much soap do you use?

 Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (KJV)

 John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. (KJV)

 Eph 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; (KJV)
 

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