Prepare the Vessel

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2 Timothy 2:20-21 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.

What it is speaking to me:

When I worked at the coffee shop, there would be busy and slow times. Busy times were all the commuters and pre-work coffee people coming in for their latte-to-go. Paper cup, speed was of the essence. Slow times were mid-mornings or mid-afternoons, and people came in to hang out or meet someone, and the drinks were "for here." So certain drinks we made in big ceramic cups, and if we were doing the job well, we would prepare the vessel. By that I mean we would fill the mug with hot water while we started brewing the coffee. Then we would empty out the water and pour the coffee drink in. The idea was that the warmed-up mug was not only a pleasant experience for the person holding it while they drank, but that it actually improved the coffee taste. A cold mug would "shock" the hot coffee when they came in contact, and that shock would have a negative effect on the flavor. Whether anyone would be able to tell this difference is up for debate, but that was the policy we had in place. Try warming up your coffee mug in the morning, you might be surprised...

But to overstate what we were doing, we were sanctifying the mug and making it fit for use. These verses are about preparing OUR vessel (our hearts, minds, etc.) to be useful for the Master (God). Prepared for every good work. What does that look like? It might look like a little hot water. The Holy Spirit is likened to water and fire, so hot water works pretty well for this illustration. Maybe we (the cup) are a bit dusty, a bit stiff, been sitting on the shelf too long unused, and need some hot water to wash the dust off and warm us up for some kingdom work. Maybe it's some hot water that is washing out some gunk (sin) that has made the cup smelly and needs to get washed out so we can be clean and ready to receive from God: blessing, direction, words, actions, ministry, etc.

The point is to be ready for a good work. To be useful to the Master. I want to be useful to God and His Kingdom. The only real FOMO (ask a young person) I have in life is being useless. I suspect most of us, in some way or another, feel that way. I want to be useful, so bring on the hot water. I want to be diligent to prepare my vessel. I want to have a vessel that God can pour anything into.

What is it saying to you?

What would hot water clean out of you?

What gunk have you let sit in your mug?

What do you want God to pour into you?

What are we going to do about it?

Clean out your heart of any gunk that shouldn't be there. Clear your mind of the same. Prepare your vessel so that God can pour in whatever he has for you.