A Vessel useful to the Master
Broken & Undone
I have attended Precept classes for over 3 years now. Through the course of studying GOD’s Word Precept upon Precept, I have been convicted several times of the Pride in my life.
I’m not typically a ranting egomaniac. Having gone through this life for 32 years, I have many times allowed Pride to build up a haughtiness in me. God used a Christian man that I barely know to speak a message of humility to me over the weekend. I realized that I have not been a vessel useful to the Master
What is an useful vessel?
The reference to “a vessel useful to the Master” comes from 2 Timothy 2:20-21.
Clay vessels, like those of Biblical times, had to fashioned. Having dabbled in pottery once, I learned from the instructor that when a potter begins his works, he careful selects the clay which he will use. The clay cannot be too hard nor too soft. If the clay is too hard, it cannot be wielded into shape; If the clay is too soft, it will not hold the form which the potter creates.
Once Fashioned, the vessel must then be baked. Depending on the type of vessel, this process can consist of placing the vessel several times into the heat. The heat of the kiln hardens the clay, giving it the strength to perform the task at hand.
Once heated, clay vessels are sometimes coated with a glaze, preserving the intricate designs made by the potter. Once again, the vessel reenters the heat, making the glaze and the clay one.
Having now been completed, the vessel must be tested. Can it hold water? If it fails this testing, the pot is broken down to later be reshaped by the potter.
Useful vessels are used over and over, because the owner finds it dependable. If a vessel does not work well, the owner will often reject it. Useful vessels are also the model by which the Potter will fashion other vessels, knowing that the form works well.
Am I, and are you?
I am often too hard or too soft to be fashioned into much. In stubbornness, I often buck up against the fastening of JESUS. In weakness, I have cowered from the forming by HIS loving hand.
I also resist the heat of the oven, forgetting that JESUS watches carefully over me. In sinfulness, I forget that JESUS knows the outcome – I should trust in Him and trust Him.
I also forget that The Holy Spirit is always with me. He covers my heart, and is always with me, protecting and preserving me for GOD’s Work.
I am also being tested. When I am not being useful to JESUS, sometime He will allow me to sit on the shelf, unused.
What about you?
