THE FACES OF VESSELS OF HONOR
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2 Timothy 2:20-21In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul speaks of the vessels of honor and dishonor. He illustrates this by speaking of a great house and how that great house had all sorts of vessels in it. The great house that Paul speaks of here can refer to the church. Obviously, if a house is big it will have an assortment of needs for vessels. Masters will need vessels and so will the servants. And this can speak to us of how in the church there are different kinds of people, destined for different purposes.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
The material the vessels are made off determine what purposes they will be used for. The Apostle Paul tells us that there are those made of gold and silver and there are those made of wood and clay. He further distinguishes them as vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor. There is a profound truth that the Apostle Paul is conveying in this passage. How we are going to be used in the kingdom will depend on what material we are made of. Thus, simply being used in the kingdom is not an indicator that we are acceptable in the eyes of God.
I saw this in a very real sense in a visit to a castle. As we were going on a tour of a castle, we were brought to a section called the China Room and there were exquisitely designed plates, cups, saucers and teapots on display. They were made of the finest materials. They were the collection of the Royal Family. They were there on display and being showcased as some of the priced possessions of royalty. When you see them, you will realize how only the finest things can be fit for the king’s use.
But I am pretty sure that somewhere in the kitchens of the castle are other plates and saucers as well. However, these will never be seen nor used by the Royal Family. They will certainly not be displayed in the castle’s gallery. They are probably used by those who serve in the castle. They are also used for matters that will not be of the same importance as being used in a King’s banquet. Furthermore, they are highly disposable. A royal family will not seek to preserve these vessels. They will be thrown away once they have been overused, tarnished or broken.
Priced vessels are the total opposite. They will be cared for and kept. Vessels of honor are the same. They will be used by the Master Himself. They will be displayed by the Master as a sign of His greatness. Finally, they will be preserved by the Master. We must therefore seek to be not only vessels used in the church but to be vessels of honor that are ministering to the Master Himself.
However, who a vessel of honor is is not very easy for men to recognize. Because man judges with the eyes, he sees very differently from the Lord who looks at the heart. Vessels of honor do not always look the part according to human standards. Our standards are very different from God’s standards. Today, we shall look at accounts in the Scripture in which the Lord Jesus identifies a vessel of honor. Hopefully, through this, we get to see what matters to Jesus when we seek to serve Him.
Simon the Pharisee and the Woman with the Alabaster Flask
Luke 7:36-50
Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”In this account we see two kinds of vessels. One was Simon the Pharisee while the other was the woman with the alabaster flask. Simon the Pharisee was of exceedingly greater reputation than the woman because he was a pharisee. The woman on the other hand was looked down upon as she was known to be a sinner, most likely an immoral woman.
So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Both of them ministered to the Lord Jesus. Simon welcomed Jesus to his home and prepared supper for him. The woman, on the other hand, came to Jesus and poured precious oil on His feet and wiped it with her hair. However, Simon served the Lord with minimal hospitality. Roads in Jesus’ time were most likely dirt roads. Thus, when people walked, their feet will get dirty. So it was common courtesy then for the host to provide water to wash the feet of his guests. Yet, Simon did not provide this to Jesus. The woman on the other hand did not simply give Jesus’ water, she washed His feet herself with her tears, wiping His feet with her hair and anointing Jesus’ feet with precious oil. In the end, the impure woman’s service to the Lord was found of greater value than the Pharisee’s.
She teaches us a very important lesson on our ministry to the Lord. It is quite easy for men to look at the reputation and the position of the minister and judge his ministry from there. However, in this account, we see what kind of ministry honored Jesus. He did not look at the reputation of the minister but at the excellence of the ministry.
What kind of ministry are we giving God? Are we simply giving bare minimum or are we giving to Him extravagantly? We can invite God to enter into our lives just like the Pharisee welcomed Jesus to his home yet give Him very little of ourselves. How much of our time and strength goes to God? How is our quiet time? Are we giving Him our best? How is our worship? Are we giving Him our all? How is our service to Him? Are we giving our bare minimum in the ministries He has called us to or are we giving Him what is excellent?
The vessel of honor seeks to demonstrate his love for God by serving Him with his best. The woman with the alabaster flask gave Jesus something that cost her. Is our ministry to God costing us? Her great devotion to the Lord came from her deep recognition of how much she needed the forgiveness of God. It was a response born out of deep gratitude and love. How thankful are we to God today? How much are we loving Him today? Gratitude and love are what will cause us to give excellently to God.
Widow with the Two Mites
Mark 12:41-44Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how people gave. He saw how the rich put in much while one widow gave two mites. Jesus said that of all who put in money it was the widow who gave most because Jesus weighed not the actual amount given but how important that amount was to the person who gave. The rich gave much but the amounts they gave were of little value to them. The widow on the other hand gave very little but it was her all.
Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
The generosity of the widow with two mites was commendable because of the occasion at which she gave as well as how valuable her giving was to her own welfare. She gave at a time of personal crisis. In terms of amount, we may all be out-giving the widow today. But the all-important question is, if we were in her place how many of us will be giving the way she did? How well is our giving in times of personal lack? Do we still faithfully give to the Lord? A woman once said, when you are in a financial crisis, one of the first things you must look at is how well you are giving to God. Is our giving to the Lord deprioritized when we begin to lack? Further, when we speak of giving it is not only about being able to give the right amount but having the right attitude when we give.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7Are our hearts still giving cheerfully and willingly to the Lord or do we begin to struggle in our hearts in a time of scarcity? How about in the area of giving our other resources such as time and strength? When things are becoming very busy at work, do we begin to sacrifice our personal times with God? Or perhaps try to come before God more out of compulsion than out of love?
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
The widow with two mites did not offer God excuses rather she offered up her all. When the going was tough, she did not seek to be excused from her commitment to God, she sought to be excellent. She did not seek to make God understand her situation rather she seized the opportunity to give God greater glory by giving to Him even when it hurts.
When we are in difficult situations, it is fairly easier to make excuses for failing to do what is right rather than to aspire to deliver much less to excel. In trying times we have a choice, either to make our situation an excuse or a platform to be excellent. The vessel of honor sees trials as opportunities to trust in God more and to glorify Him more.
The Tax Collector
Luke 18:9-14Two men came to the temple to pray, a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee was self-satisfied. He saw himself as better than sinners. He even saw himself as better than the other man in the temple. Does that ever happen to us? Seeing ourselves as better than others? Having a certain confidence that we are better than other people in the room and being consoled by it?
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
We must be careful not to harbor such pride in our hearts. You see the Pharisee did not say what he thought to the other man. But it was something he had in his mind. This tells us that being critical is not simply a sin of our lips but a sin of our thoughts. And it is in our thoughts that we have to be watchful. We are told in Philippians 2 that one aspect of humility is to esteem others as better than ourselves.
Philippians 2:3At the heart of the matter is the Pharisee’s tendency to compare and compete. Why did his standing with God have to be in reference to somebody else’s? He measured his righteousness according to how righteous others were. Why should we be in competition with others? We must also be careful of such practice of comparing ourselves with others and wanting to outdo other people. Further, the Pharisee thought he could gain the favor of God with outward works rather than through a broken and contrite heart.
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
The tax collector, on the other hand, had such humility. He did not even see himself worthy to come near. It is said he stood afar off and would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven but beat his chest while pleading for God’s mercy. In the end, Jesus said he was justified. A vessel of honor has a very humble heart and a broken spirit.
Isaiah 66:2With the three examples of those that received commendation from the Lord Jesus, we see vessels who were of no reputation in men’s eyes yet were acceptable to the Lord Jesus because of the excellence of their service, giving, and their humbling before God. May we be found as approved and acceptable before God, vessels of honor fit for His use!
"For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
“But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word."
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