Faith is Like a Water Balloon

Well, today for work we played the good ol' water balloon toss. It is a fact that to play this game there needs to be a proper supply of water balloons which must first be filled up. This requires an able bodied man that has the skill and charisma of a saint. Needless to say I was the privileged one that filled up the water balloons. I grabbed our clear, plastic tub, threw a chair over my shoulder, clutched onto the tall cylinder containing the water bombs, and set off to fill the balloons. As I sat there wrapping the top of the balloon around my finger to tie them off the Parable of the Seed popped into my mind, pun fully intended.

The Parable of the Seed can be found in Mark 4:3-8: "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

If you have not filled up water balloons then you have missed out on a real treat, but I will try to help you understand how I thought of the Water Balloon Parable. First, it is obvious that a water balloon needs to have water. Jesus is the source of Living Water (John 4:10) and He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). You must allow  Him to fill your life, like water fills a water balloon.

When filling a water balloon you will notice that some automatically have a hole. They will do one of two things. They will either slowly leak out until all of the water is gone, or they will pop. This agrees with Scripture that some people will hear the word of God, but will be carried away with the birds, not having a chance to let the word soak in. If you get past the filling part, the next step is to start tying off the balloon. Some of the balloons make it through this process, but others do not and they pop.  This represents those that received faith, but had shallow ground. When the times of hardship, stress, and persecution come they fall away. 

Next, when you have the balloon tied you place them in some sort of container. If you are planning a large water balloon fight then you will see a lot of water balloons that start to clump together like the picture above. This may even cause some water balloons to pop because they are so sensitive. In a sense they get choked out. Some people's faith get choked out by the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things. However, there are those that pass all of these tests. They stay firm and ready until the right time comes. The kids grab the water balloons and throw them around. It brings much fun and happiness for them. They always keep coming back for more. Faith that survives these tests are similar. It brings about "a return of investment" of sorts. It gives people a true joy, and it keeps others coming back for more. When faith is truly invested in you, telling other people about Christ becomes natural. You learn how to love, care, and pray for all the people around you, and Christ brings you into a deeper relationship with God the Father. 


Where are you in your faith? I struggle with the worries of life. I want to be the one that provides for my family that I start to wonder how I am going to do that. It is hard to let go of that sometimes. However, I must remember that it is God who gives life, and He is the true Provider.