Do You Want to be a Chosen Vessel?: Are You Sure?

By David Ryser

Have you ever heard of someone being referred to as a crackpot?  Did you wonder where that term came from?

In Jesus’ time, pots and other vessels were made by hand.  The potter would fashion the pot on a potter’s wheel.  Moist clay would be molded into the shape desired by the potter.  Then the molded vessel would be placed in an oven where the heat would dry and harden it.  When the firing process was complete, the vessel would be removed from the oven and allowed to cool.

Then the vessel would be inspected.

All vessels looked good on the wheel.  Flaws in the vessel were invisible until it was subjected to the fire.  Flawed vessels would crack under the intense heat of the kiln.  Some pots were cracked so badly that they were ruined.  They were unusable.

The fire did not create the flaws.  The fire revealed the flaws.

Some vessels were cracked in the firing, but the cracks were small.  The potter would apply wax to the cracks and seal them.  These pots would then be decorated and displayed in the shop for sale.  They were good for most household uses, but not for holding hot liquid.  If hot liquid was put into these pots, the wax would melt and the vessel would leak.

The vessel was useful.  But its use was limited.

When someone came into a pottery shop, they would browse until they found a pot they might want to buy.  They would select a vessel and then take it out of the dark pottery shop to inspect it.  They would hold it up to the light of the sun.  If the pot had a crack that had been filled with wax, the light from the sun would shine through the wax in the crack.

Our English phrase “shine the light of day on…” might come from this practice.

A cracked pot would be valued according to the number and size of the cracks.  If the buyer intended to place hot liquid in the vessel, it would be rejected.  If the pot would be used for common household purposes, the buyer might purchase this pot…but at a reduced rate.

The light did not cause the cracks.  The light revealed the cracks…and the wax patch.

Other pots had come out of the firing oven without flaws and cracks.  The potter would inspect them.  Finding them to be without flaws and cracks, he would decorate them.  Then he would place them in his shop for sale.

But he would not display them.

These were chosen vessels.  They had come through the fire without defect.  They could be used for any purpose.  They would even hold hot liquid without leaking.  The potter would take these pots to the back room of his shop and place them on a shelf.  Then he would cover them.

And there they would remain.

These chosen vessels would stay under cover on the shelf until the right person came into the shop.  This person might want a pot that would hold hot liquid.  Or this person might need a beautiful, flawless pot to decorate a home.

When this customer came into the shop, the potter would say, “I have just the pot for you!”  Then he would go into the back of his shop, select one of his chosen vessels, and present it to the customer.  The sale would be transacted.  The pot would be taken from the shop and be used for its intended purpose.

Until then, it would sit in the dark…on the shelf…under cover.  Waiting.

In Acts 9:15, Paul was called a chosen vessel.  He had been molded by God for a special purpose.  Upon his becoming a Christian, he attempted to begin his work of preaching the gospel (Acts 9:20, 29a).  But plots to kill him (Acts 9:23-25, 29b) cut short his preaching career.  For his own safety, Paul was sent to his hometown of Tarsus (Acts 9:30).

And there he sat on the shelf…under cover…for somewhere between 3 and 14 years.

Sitting on the shelf with the call of God burning in your heart is hard.  Every time the cover is lifted off of the pots, you cry out, “Pick me!”  When another vessel is chosen and the cover is replaced, it hurts.  And it’s even worse when a pot that has been on the shelf for less time than you is chosen.

There is no such thing as seniority in the Kingdom of God.

And the whole time you are sitting on the shelf, God is working on your character.  All He seems to want to talk about is what He wants you to be.  You want to talk about what you will do…and when you will do it.

You could try complaining….

I was whining to God one day about not having a purpose in His Kingdom.  He said, “I thought you said I was everything to you.”  I protested, “You are everything, Lord!  I love You more than life!”  He asked, “Then do you have the right to complain about not having something that isn’t Me?”

That shut me up.  For awhile.

Later I was complaining about having to sit on the shelf for so long.  He asked, “Would you rather sit on My shelf or be on display in the religious brothel?”

He does have a way with words.

But one day He will come for you…or not.  If you had to choose between being what you were created to be or doing what you were created to do, which would you choose?

“Do I have to choose?”

I don’t know.  Maybe.  I did.  You may not have to.  But don’t bet on it.

We want to be chosen vessels, but we don’t want to go through the process necessary to become one.  I understand.  It’s not much fun.  But if we love God and trust Him, we really don’t have a choice.

Then, one day….

Barnabas needed help.  The church in Antioch was growing.  He needed someone to assist him.  But it couldn’t be just anyone.  Antioch was a unique situation that demanded a special person.  Barnabas remembered Paul and went to Tarsus to find him (Acts 11:19-26).  He found him and brought him back to Antioch.

And Paul’s ministry was born.

Are you on the shelf?  You might try giving thanks to God and submitting to His training.  Anyone can be on display.

You are a chosen vessel.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com