Usage Issues

I heard something yesterday that was yet another reminder of a profound truth.

People, much like items and events, can be useful in the positive sense or useless in the negative sense.

Everything has a purpose, a reason for existence.

Yet when it is not fulfilling its' purpose, is it really useful?

What's worse, when moving in the opposite direction, it makes things feel as though there degrees of uselessness. Like it's possible for an on/off switch to be more than a binary state or for there to be levels of darkness.

There difference between usage, as to whether the impact is useful or useless depends on it's position in light of eternity.

Consider salvation.

It is not possible for someone to be useful to the cause of Jesus Christ while they are dead in their sin; alive albeit in an unrepentant state.

However, no matter how long one has been walking with God, it's entirely possible to find ourselves in places, positions and relationships that hinder the power of our usefulness to the work of Jesus Christ. And that is a dangerous place to find one's self.

On that note of self-reflection, that's pray this #youthPastorWednesday, that pastors would not find themselves in places and relationships that would hinder or detract from their usefulness to the ministry. Pray for an every increasing sensitivity to the moving of the Holy Spirit in their faith. Pray for wisdom and discernment as they lead; to speak into the lives within their influence and under their ministry, to spur them towards greater usefulness for the kingdom of God. May they not be distracted, detoured or derailed; God forbid we would hear anything close to "you useless servant".

Instead, may it be nothing short of "good and faithful".
Used by God
By the power of the Holy Spirit,
For the cause of Jesus Christ,
To the glory of God, our Father.

- PNC