They exist in all the oceans, from the tropics to the poles. They come in all shapes and sizes. Their body contains countless tiny holes in which they intake water that becomes their food source. Large specimens can take in hundreds of gallons of water each day.

My teacher looked at the students and said, “You need to become a sponge.”

The immediate thought was of that old dry sponge by the sink. That one little piece of material can absorb a full glass of liquid. The implications are that we should take the empty parts of our minds and fill them with new ideas. 

Once a living sponge is full of water, it takes in more water. That is how they survive, filtering untold gallons of water to find all those tiny little particles that serve as their food. They bring in everything but only digest the good parts for it to grow. The lesson is also clear: once you fill your mind, do not stop intaking new information, but filter out the good stuff so that you can continue to grow as a person, especially a believer. 

My teacher was right. If you want to be a good student of anything, including faith, you need to become a sponge.