II Timothy 2:19-21, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
I believe that in the heart of every truly born-again child of God, there is a desire in every one of our hearts for the Lord to use us in some way for His glory. I believe II Timothy 2:19-21 is a beautiful illustration of how the Lord uses us. Paul writes about the most common thing available in every home of the day – vessels. These vessels were not merely to look at, but they had a practical and particular every day use. The Lord is not being a respecter of persons when He puts these vessels into different categories. He is merely teaching us an important lesson. If you and I want to be useful in His work, then we need to have a desire to discern what role we are playing in His great plan for our lives. The text tells us there are Priceless Vessels (Gold & Silver), Common Vessels (Wood) and Disposable Vessels (Earthen) in a Great House. Folks, I know I am not always what I ought to be, or even want to be, but I still pray daily, “Lord, help me to be a golden vessel. Don’t let me become a disposable vessel in Your work.” That prayer brings two thoughts to my mind.
First, the Lord knows me! I often hear people say (and I’ve even said it myself), “I’m so glad I know the Lord.” And I know that we are to “Know Him and to make Him known.” The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” If this great man of God wanted to know Him, then what a challenge this should be to us. Yet, the reality is, you and I will never fully know Him. But you can count on this – He knows us, and more in particular, He knows me! He knows my successes and He knows my failures. He knows me at my best and He knows me at my worst. And realizing that makes the next point amazing:
Not only does the Lord know me – He uses me! Folks, it brings tears to my eyes to think that the Lord of all Glory, the King of kings and Lord of lords, could use someone like me! WOW. Just think about that in light of your life – your failures and your successes. Think about that in light of the things you know about you that nobody else knows about you! Yet God wants to use you!
So, we can either be a disposal vessel that no one remembers and fades away, or a common vessel, just doing enough to get by, or we can determine to be a priceless vessel. “Father, I pray that our desire to be used will for Your glory and not ours. Let our lives be driven by Your purpose for each of us. In Jesus name – Amen”
I leave you with this thought: People will forget what you said; people will forget what you did; but people will never forget how you made them feel!
Fighting for My Pea Patch 