The New Testament On PurposeSýnishorn

This verse is a hard one. If it was a Thanksgiving dinner, you’d be asked to graciously skip this verse because it isn’t “polite conversation.”

God, as the potter, has complete control and dominion over what He can create, and over what He can task that creation with doing. It’s His pleasure to decide. It’s His right, as ruler, to assign: some for special purposes and some for common use.

If you’re reading this, I wholeheartedly believe you are one of the few set aside for a “special purpose.” 

How do I know that? Because the ones who were destined for common use never bother desiring more. They settle. They sit on the shelves, blend in, and perform whatever task has been assigned to them.

Sometimes their comfortable and safe existence can look mighty attractive to us – the wanderers. The ones who want more. The ones who don’t quite fit in.

But don’t forget, unique shapes fulfill unique purposes.

A planting pot can be very large. It can hold a huge plant along with gallons of water. Another vessel, like a drinking cup, may only be able to hold a small amount of water. Finally, a tiny container, like a medicine case, may be very small and only able to hold a small amount – but what it was designed to hold is life-saving.

Shape, size, color – none of these determine the value of the vessel. It’s what inside that matters.

God may have given you a shape or size or color your uncomfortable with. But it’s exactly the vessel He needs to hold the special purpose He has for you.