Those who cleanse themselves . . . will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (2 Tim. 2:21)
Our dog Rascal has a number of beds throughout our house. His day is mostly moving from one nest to the next, until, at night, he finally sleeps on the floor on a blanket at the foot of our bed. That blanket is never to be used for anything but the dog. Even if it is washed, bleached, and sanitized, I will never allow that blanket to wrap me on the coldest night of the year. Rascal has a hair brush that will not be used on my head. Furthermore, we also have toothbrushes that we use to clean crevices in my car that will never be used for teeth cleaning either. We have scissors that cut food and scissors that cut paper.
In every house, we have things that we use for special purposes, and then things that have ignoble uses. When things get tainted, we know it’s probably time to throw them out.
Similarly, God wants us to rid our lives of things that make us useless for his purposes. As we pray the hymn “Spirit of the Living God” and ask God to “melt me, mold me, fill me, use me,” we are reminded that if the Holy Spirit cleanses us with his filling, we will surely be used by God for his unique purposes.
Rid yourself of those qualities that make you unusable to God.
Rich Eckley is professor of theology at Houghton College and serves on the Women in Ministry Task Force for The Wesleyan Church.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
