Receptivity and Response
A dry sponge can’t clean—until it receives. Receptivity always precedes response.
Devotional Credit: E. Stanley Jones – In Christ
Photo Credit: Unsplash
E. Stanley Jones opens our eyes today to the reality that life in Christ is not a subtraction, but an enrichment. Too many assume that the Christian life is meant to be a denial of joy now for a reward later—but in Christ, enrichment begins here and now. Wherever He is received, life flourishes. He touches the soul, and it’s made whole. He touches the mind, and clarity replaces confusion. He touches the body, and even there, wellness can follow the peace He imparts.
Jones rightly reminds us that Christ is not merely the redeemer of our souls—He is the Creator through whom all things were made and for whom they exist. When a broken life is yielded to Him, He doesn’t merely repair it. He recreates it. The result is a harmonious personality—mind, soul, and body working in rhythm. Not striving, not scattered, not stressed—but operating as one, with one purpose and one joy: to live from the abundance Christ has already supplied.
The secret, says Jones, lies in receptivity. We cannot give what we do not receive. But when we learn to draw from Christ—moment by moment—we find that our lives begin to reflect His richness. We move through the world not as beggars, but as vessels overflowing, able to respond because we have first received.
Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You were not made to be divided within. In Me, your soul is no longer at war with itself. I bring harmony to the deepest places in you. Where your thoughts once pulled in opposing directions, I give single-mindedness. Where your affections once sought satisfaction in competing loves, I fill you with Myself—perfect love that drives out fear, confusion, and unrest.
You were created through Me and for Me. And when you yield to Me what has been broken, I do not simply mend it—I make it new. Your mind, once clouded, becomes clear. Your soul, once fractured, becomes loyal. Even your body, which bears the burdens of inner turmoil, begins to respond to the peace I give you. I make all things whole in Me.
But you must receive. You cannot give out what you have not taken in. So abide. Dwell in Me. Let My words remain in you. As you receive My life, you will live richly—not with the poverty of self-effort, but with the fullness of grace. You will find yourself responding in ways you once could not, for you are drawing from an eternal well. You are no longer running on your own.
Live as one who receives, and you will become one who overflows.
Scriptures: Colossians 1:16, Galatians 2:20, John 15:5, 1 John 4:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 2:13
Real-Life Analogy
It’s like a sponge placed in water. A dry sponge is stiff, brittle, and can’t clean a thing. But once it soaks in water, it becomes pliable and useful—it absorbs, and then it releases. It doesn’t need to squeeze itself to do its job; it simply receives, and then responds.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, I rest in the fullness of Christ within me. I thank You that I no longer live from lack, but from Your abundance. I rejoice that You are the one who enriches every part of my being—mind, soul, and even body—by the indwelling life of Your Son. I receive all that You have already given, and I live today as a vessel ready to respond, not out of effort, but from overflow. Thank You for making me whole in Christ.