The Gallbladder

·        The Gallbladder:

      The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that is connected to the liver and the small intestine by a series of ducts.  The gallbladder is the storage place for bile, which the liver makes.  The bile helps in the digestion of the food.  The bile flows from the liver through the hepatic duct into the common bile duct.  Then the bile is emptied into the small intestine.  When no digestion of food is happening, bile is not needed for digestion but flows from the liver, through the common duct to the gallbladder where it’s stored until needed.  There is a special hormone called cholecystokinin.  The gallbladder holds the bile until CCK signals for it to submissively release bile when fats need to be digested.  Bile is a greenish-brown fluid, and it helps in absorbing some vitamins.  Wastes from the liver, and broken-down blood cells give it the color it gets.  Bile is also one of the most poisonous substances in our body.  It keeps the food in the intestines from spoiling.  Bile is very bitter when vomited up.  It’s not usually in the stomach, but when someone is vomiting a lot and there’s no food in their stomach, bile is thrown upward into the stomach and then vomited out.                                                                                                                                                               Gallstones are formed because the bile becomes concentrated, becoming stagnant or filled with impurities.  Gallstones are made from cholesterol, something in animal fats.  The liver also makes cholesterol, and too much can cause hardening of the arteries.  Also, when there is too much cholesterol and the bile is concentrated, the cholesterol crystallizes.  Then all the little bows of crystallized cholesterol form together and make a small gallstone.  If everything continues to stay the same, the gallstone becomes bigger and bigger.  There can sometimes be many little gallstones in the gallbladder.  When the bile flows out, sometimes the gallstone will flow along too.  If the gallstone is too large to get through the duct opening, it will be terribly painful and a serious problem.  With the bile not being able to flow freely, if nothing is done about the gallstone being stuck in the opening of the duct, a condition of jaundice will arise.  That’s when bile is absorbed into the blood stream and the person turns yellow.  If not taken care of it can be serious.  Other causes of gallstones, are, too much sugar, too much protein, meat, dairy products, greasy foods, highly seasoned foods, foods containing baking soda, overeating (high in fat), not drinking enough water waise down the liver, making it hard to work and it makes the liver unhealthy.  Also a lack of exercise can involve the cause of gallstones.  Eating the right kinds of fat and foods are needed.  Olives, avocados, walnuts, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, etc. are all full of good fat.  Eating a lot of fruit and vegetables are needed!

·        Spiritual lesson:

     Just like bile flows from the liver to the gallbladder, our prayers are to be ever flowing up to God and His blessings will flow back to us!  Just like when the CCK signals for the bile to flow and the bile submissively releases, so are we to be submissive to Christ when He signals for us to follow Him in every little thing.                                                                                                                                                                           _ Just like bile is one of the poisonous things in our body as well as very bitter, so sin is one of the poisonous things and very bitter to God and the life that is alive in sin and not dead in Christ.  Just like when a person is vomiting bile up after vomiting for a while, we are to vomit up our evil ways and become purified in Christ.                                                         Just like when the bile becomes concentrated, becoming stagnant or filled with impurities, and cholesterol becomes crystallized, forming gallstones and the liver becomes unhealthy and full of impurities from not eating right, not drinking enough water and not exercising enough; so with us in our Christian walk.  Without drinking at the Fountain of Living Water, not the eating of God’s Holy Word, not exercising our faith and not staying apart from the bile of the world, we will become stagnant, unhealthy and full of impurities in our Christian walk!  Just like it is so important to eat right, drink lots of water and exercise for the health of our liver, so it is with our Christian life.  We must eat right spiritually, drinking and learning from Jesus and ever exercising our faith in Him.  Staying away from the bile of the world, the evil pleasures and bad influences!  We must ever keep an open flow between our hearts and Christ and not let the gallstones of life come between Him and us!  If the connection between our hearts and Christ becomes closed by a gallstone of life, we will turn “yellow,” not having the victory in Him that we are to be having.  At first it will be painful, but if we don’t let Christ through to our hearts by removing the gallstones of life, we will become yellow with sin and iniquity.  Without a connection with Christ, we cannot live happy, healthful Christian lives!