Mugs?

Luke 10:16,20 – He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. (NIV)

We have a collection of mugs at home. I take one to work every day for my tea. They have various colours and cartoons portrayed on the outside. Some are to amuse, some are to look pretty, and some are to advertise a product, but they all perform the task that I have for them. I appreciate the role that they fulfil, never more so than when I forget to bring one in to work, and I have to resort to the spare that faithfully lurks at the back of my desk drawer!

In a different context, I have thought of myself as being a bit of a "mug", perhaps because others have prospered, moved up, or exploited the opportunities that have come their way, when I have been called to walk a different path.

I believe that, as Christians, we are called to be mugs, God's carriers, to be filled up and to be poured out where and when He wills. We are treasured, not for what we look like, or for what we advertise on the outside, but for what we carry inside us, His Holy Spirit in fellowship with ours.

What we are truly filled with may only be shown when our vessels are tilted a little, as we collide with the stuff of life, and what is inside becomes manifest by what spills over the outside of the vessel.

Perhaps this analogy will help us not to play down what we carry within. Jesus wanted his disciples not to marvel at the outward wonders alone, performed in the name of Jesus and the authority of God, but to be aware of the treasure that they carried within: their affiliation in the Kingdom of God. This would last forever, long after the vessel had faded away into dust.

Prayer: Lord, keep our eyes focused on you today, and cleanse our lives from the incursions of the world into our lives in the days past. Lord, thank you that you chose us to be your vessels, and that you continue to choose us to carry your good news and authority to whom and where you will us to be today. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share this devotional on Facebook     Like PresbyCan on Facebook