A vessel unto honor

2 Timothy 2:21

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.

We are all vessels of some type. We may be vessels of gold and silver, or we may be vessels of wood or of earth. But either way, we are vessels that the Master can use, or we are vessels that He will be unable to use. If we will purge ourselves from the things related to us in this marvelous chapter, we can be a vessel of gold or silver, that is to say, unto honor. Would you desire this, dear one? Would you desire to be a vessel of gold, honorable and usable in the hands of Christ? How will you become this? Do you know that you are not naturally an honorable vessel? Your natural state is a state of imperfect wood and earth, and in a status that is not usable much by the Lord. You must be made a vessel unto honor. You must be sanctified, so that you may be meet, that is, suitable, for the Master’s use.

You must purge yourself from these! What are these? Are they not listed and enumerated clearly in this great charge to Timothy? We must eschew profane and vain babblings, and foolish questions, and we must leave off the words of no profit. Instead, we are to use words that subvert, or help and encourage, our hearers. We are to flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, charity, peace, and a pure heart. We are to be willing to suffer with Him, and never deny His name. We must not be entangled in the affairs of this life, and we must be gentle to all men. This means we cannot strive with anyone. The servant of the Lord must not strive! We must purge ourselves from these! We must allow God to eviscerate all evil from our bodies and beings. We must be willing to allow His heavenly soap to wash through our hearts and minds, that they may be spotless before Him. Are you a willing vessel? The vessel must allow and not resist His cleansing, because the Lord only washes and uses those who have a true and pure willingness to be washed and used.

Dear friend, would you like to be prepared unto every good work? Would you like to be sanctified by Him, and made suitable for His use? There is no other way than this. There are no shortcuts, excuses, or alternate routes. We must come by the severe hand of God’s cleansing. We must say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” For not everyone who wants to be used will ever be used. Some will be cast away; some will be set to collect dust on the shelf. But for those who are truly willing to be made clean and made sanctified and made pure, God will put them to an important use. He will place them in His hand, and find a special purpose for them. He will not leave them aside, and such vessels, therefore, have no reason to fear. The only ones needing to fear are those that are hesitant to be cleansed, and that resist the sanctification process of the Lord. Ask the Lord to cleanse you today, precious brother or sister, and allow Him to make you a vessel unto honor!

“Dear Father in Heaven, we know that there is no other way to be used by you than the one prescribed here. We desire it, but we confess, that although the spirit indeed is willing, the flesh is weak. Therefore we invite your sanctifying and cleansing; we invite your scouring and scrubbing. And we ask you to cleanse us today, and make us vessels unto honor, sanctified and meet for our Master’s use. And we shall truly praise you for your work in our lives. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.”