being Useful!

I think we would all like to be considered useful for something. It provides a good feeling when we know we have been able to make at least a somewhat SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO LIFE in this world. However, we should guard against feeling we are either too old or too young for being made useful. For example, consider Noah who was six hundred years old when he entered the ark ( Genesis 7:6); God having given him something useful to do and this world was given a fresh start. Noah had refused to get caught up in the ungodly direction that marked the world of his day. ( Genesis 6:5) Then consider Josiah who was only eight years old when he began to reign as king over Judah. ( 2 Kings 22:1) His reign followed on the heals of two very wicked kings (Manasseh and Amon, 2 Kings 21), but by his eighteenth year ( 2 Kings 22:3) Josiah began leading great reforms for the kingdom of Judah, bringing the people back to following the commands of God. What made Josiah such a good king was that he "turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might." ( 2 Kings 23:25)

As we consider our usefulness as members of the household of God, we should be mindful of anything that might detract from the usefulness God wishes to make of our life.

Paul exhorted Timothy.
"(20) Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. (21) Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, SET APART AS HOLY, USEFUL TO THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE, READY FOR EVERY GOOD WORK." ( 2 Timothy 2:20-21 ESV)

Now, we may never build even a small boat (let alone an ark) or sit on a throne over a nation. Nevertheless, a life marked by a refusal to get caught up in the status quo of the world, but instead maintains an openness to the Will of God is the life GOD CAN AND WILL WORK THROUGH IN SIGNIFICANT WAYS. We might not be a rescuer of life from a flood or bring the attention of a nation back to God, but we can SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT those around us one soul at a time. Just as God was mindful of one life (Noah's) in the midst of a wicked world, for us to draw the attention of even one soul to God is the greatest and MOST SIGNIFICANT usefulness toward which to put our life. Between the history of the lives of Josiah and Noah, let us be encouraged that anywhere between the ages of eight and six hundred God can provide something SIGNIFICANT and worthwhile to do. May we experience the joy of being used by Him.

Have a great day LIVING USEFUL TO THE MASTER!
Carl

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