Living and working closely with others facilitates the cycle
of discipleship. Paul was sovereignly and strategically placed in close
proximity to others as he pursued holiness. In Philippians 3:12, Paul asserts
his desire to attain to an unhindered relationship with Jesus Christ. As he
pursued this desire he worked alongside Timothy, Roman guards, Lydia, Titus,
Silas, Mark, Onesimus or Barnabas. The
saw how he endured unjust treatment, thwarted plans, disappointing failures and
less than comfortable circumstances. Paul’s response, as recorded in Scripture,
was always selfless and Christ-exalting. I have no doubts that there were times
of self-pity, brokenness and doubts but the biblical record is clear concerning
Paul’s general disposition in trials, “In everything give thanks, for this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess. 5:18) We now have
this treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7). This earthen vessel is fragile,
undone, and naturally empty but through faith it becomes a house of God or temple
of the Holy Spirit. The outside is assuredly temporal, fragile and subject to
the stress and strain of the trials of life but the inside contains an eternal treasure;
Christ-who is our life (Col. 3:3).
“If you
then are risen with Christ, seek those things that are above, where Christ sits
at the right hand of God.” (Col. 3:1) The pursuit of holiness is God’s doing as
we embrace the sin-conquering, life-transforming Gospel. The earthen vessel is
nothing. The treasure within is everything. When we are under the strain of
unjust treatment, chaotic circumstances and temptations to yield to the flesh
the broken vessel reveals the treasure within. Those that are close to us are
able to sense and see what is being revealed. We must be vulnerable and allow them
access to our inner life. Our witness, our discipleship method- is our
willingness to be a broken vessel that the treasure within is clearly seen.
This begins with God’s pro-active compassion as He leads us on a pursuit of
holiness that is to be observed by others so that Christ might be exalted, not
us.
When I was
seventeen, I saw a red 1969 Camaro that was a dream car for most teenage boys.
It was sitting in a man’s yard with a “For Sale” sign. I ask my dad about it
and he said to stop and ask about it. So the next day I pulled in the driveway
and began looking it over. As I did the owner came outside and told me all the
great things he had done to the car. It was beautiful and even smelled of new
paint and interior. After he finished telling me all the good stuff he revealed that the
car had been wrecked and declared a total loss 8 months before. He bought the
car from the insurance company and took it to a local collision repair shop that
had totally restored the car. It was as good as new he proclaimed. I was disheartened.
My family was in the automotive repair business. A wrecked and repaired vehicle
was looked down upon as a rule. I didn’t even ask the price and courteously
gestured as I left. That evening dad ask me what I had found about the Camaro.
I told him that I stopped and looked at it but I didn’t get a price from the man.
Dad asked why and I told him the car had been wrecked badly a few months
earlier. The next question out of my
dad’s mouth is the point of this lesson; “Who fixed it?”
Paul’s
closeness to his disciples allowed them to see a man that was a total loss,
broken beyond repair by any human means. But the broken vessel revealed an
eternal treasure, a worthy Repairman. Paul’s discipleship of others was characterized
by vulnerability. This vulnerability helped the disciple to see that no state
of brokenness is beyond God’s ability to restore. And that is our message to a
lost and dying world.
No comments:
Post a Comment