An admired, Christian friend of mine, recently, asked me who, or what, I considered myself to be. Extemporaneous me, I didn’t waste a beat in my reply. However, from the look on her face, it was not at all — in any way, shape or form – an answer she expected!!!
Who, or what, am I? I am nothing but the outer casing of a rubber hose. In retrospection, I confidently add, this clarification most likely defines you too!!!
For most of my life, I have been considered, by many, to be articulately able to express a message capable of motivating others to believe in God’s Faith, Hope and Love. I admit that I, as a vessel, have been enormously blessed to witness this happening. However, key word here is “WITNESS”. I have not accomplished. I have “WITNESSED”. Simply spoken, God has accomplished. I, as a vessel, have only “WITNESSED”.
Let’s go back to my definition of me – the outer casing of a rubber hose. In absolute definition, Christ, when He summoned us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 ESV), was making me, and you, the outer casing of a rubber hose.
Make no mistake, you and I (the outer casing of a rubber hose) are only a vessel. You and I are not the lifesaving water that flows through the casing of a rubber hose. It is God the Father’s, Christ the Son’s and the Holy Spirit’s life, power, healing, forgiveness and righteousness that flows through and baptizes. You and I cannot claim to be the source of even one tiny drop of the baptismal waters conducted through the casing of us, as vessels. We are not rulers of others’ destinies but servants of our triune God, who governs all. God does not call us to be a leading source but, rather, a following outgrowth. In short, who and what we are comes from WHOSE we are. Because we are God’s, we are christened as vessels through whom Christ’s presence and saving love is commissioned to flow into others.
Allow me to deviate. When our gardens endure a drought, what do we do? Do we put the hose away and say grounds too choked in dehydration to flower? No, on the contrary, we pull our hose out, morning and night, to enable roots to grow deep, buds to open and our world to be frocked in living color.
What about God’s kingdom on earth? Not a drought but a dearth is trying to strangle it. As the outer casing of Christianity’s rubber hose, what are we doing? Are we coiling up trying to avoid the engulfing aridness? Or, as God’s vessel are we stretching long and wide to enable Christ’s baptismal waters to flood the barren state of prevalent worldly existence?
As the outer casing of a rubber hose, we are not to fear any extrinsic pressure. The force of God flowing through us, not only, furnishes a surge of life giving water to all inner souls, but also, out masters any external evil force trying to scorch out the reign of eternal life.
My prayer this week is that each and every one of us finds (or better yet, deliberately makes) time to be a helping vessel for God’s saving water to reach a thirsting soul.
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 