I’m always amazed when God uses me. He doesn’t have to; He could leave me in the cupboard to collect dust as other, more worthy vessels are chosen instead. But He doesn’t. Rather, He’s a lot like us, in that He keeps His fine china and silverware in the hutch, on display for all to see, and His ordinary cups He uses every day.
It’s not the Blue Willow porcelain He chooses for His cereal bowl, or the Sterling Silver fork He gets for His salad. Nope. He gets the used-to-be butter tub. He picks items from His shelf which are not all that attractive, items which have a few nicks and scars. He chooses for daily use the vessels that typically remain hidden behind cabinet doors.
A lot of people seem to get angry or annoyed with God because of what He made them. I used to be like that; I used to look at other ministers and wish I had a ministry like theirs. I used to watch other Christians and dream of walking in the grace they walk in. I used to gripe because other missionaries get to stay on the field longer than I do. I used to complain about circumstances and trials, as if God were mad at me and thus forcing me to go through this tough situation. But God has made us who we are, perfectly formed in the very image He imagined for us.
Romans 9:20-23 (The Message)
Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn’t that all right?
God has called us all to certain things, and if He chooses to use me today and never again I have nothing to complain about. It’s His prerogative. After all, I’m not my own; I’m His. If God doesn’t want me to be a vase for holding flowers, placed on the top shelf for all to see, then that’s fine. As I said earlier, it’s the dishes tucked away in the recesses of the cabinet, hidden behind closed doors for none to see, which get used most often.
I was relating this to a friend tonight. I reminded him of things that have happened in his life, and that he has a definite call to preach. Not necessarily in a pulpit, but in the street. I told him about that verse, and that God has some people that are like the vase, on display in the church, preaching to us. These are relatively few in comparison to the crowd: the pastor, an evangelist, a prophet who stands up with a word from the Lord. But we, the laymen, are the ones who go out into the “… Highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” (Luke 14:23 KJV) We are the ones who God uses as we go about our daily business. We are the ones who will see the lame walk and the blind see … all while shopping for groceries or getting our hair cut.
Now, what’s different between the analogy of the potter and our Christian walk is that the vessels of honor, on display in the church, are just the same as we are when they’re outside of the church. Away from their office they are normal Christians. They have the same ministry that you and I do in calling people in. Reaching the lost is what we are all to be doing. And miracles are the dinner bell to salvation. When people see someone healed of skin cancer before their eyes, they will definitely want to know what you’ve got.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t have a call to stand in front of everyone and show off God’s power. Your pulpit may not be made of Lexan. It might be made of metal tubing (like a shopping cart), or Polyester (such as a barber’s sheet). You’ve definitely got a ministry. God has called us all to “… Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15 NIV) Stand up, take up your cross, and follow God. Do that thing He has called you to. I dare you. Then, and only then, will you be satisfied.
~Jonathan
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