I want to talk about vessels today. All of us are a vessel with a certain amount of capacity. Think of a cupboard full of cups, bowls, glasses, etc. Some can hold a lot and some can hold only a little. The quality of what they hold can be stellar regardless of how much of it they can keep from spilling, and this is true of each of us. How many times have you marveled at someone who seemed to be able to get a large amount done and keep their sanity in the process? You wonder how they do it. It’s all about capacity. Some people have a higher capacity; some not so much. Higher capacity isn’t better, it’s just different. In either case, great things can happen because what the person does with their capacity is the most important part. It isn’t valuable if someone can hold a lot of junk, but it’s super valuable if someone can hold a small amount of excellence. My point is that it’s not a quantity thing, but more a quality thing. The best, though, is to hold as much quality as one possibly can. Use your capacity to the max.
Another thought on vessels has to do with the vessel itself. Are you a clean or dirty vessel? Imagine going back to the cupboard and finding that there are no clean cups, but in the sink are a ton of dirty cups. Chances are, you will clean a cup before you use it rather than just picking up a dirty one out of the sink and using it as is. Also, if a cup isn’t clean but a glass is, you’ll use it rather than insisting on a cup. They both will be useful to you as long as they are clean.
Borrowing from the book of 2 Timothy:
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood
and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses
himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy,
useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
It is important to note that the end goal for the vessel is to become useful to the master regardless of what kind of vessel it was when it began. The distinction between useful and non-useful is made through the cleansing, not because of original status, entitlement, or gifting. The wood and clay vessels have just as much potential for good use as the gold and silver, and the gold and silver can become useless to the master if they are unclean. This is great news! It doesn’t matter how we begin, but how we finish. Vessels of all sizes are those useful to the Master if they have been cleansed in heart, mind and soul. Only then are they suitable for “every good work.”
I encourage you to be a leader who is clean and who uses their capacity to its fullest potential.
Lead well.