Thursday, January 29, 2009

Vessels of Christ

An interesting thought appeared to me the other day, I pondered it for awhile and felt that it would make a good blog post...

If we are to be Vessels of Christ, then what are we going to carry on our ship? And who's going to steer?

Today's world is immersed in a culture of ungodliness and sin. We are surrounded by temptations and evil thoughts and desires. The world strives to make us like it, to make us enjoy sinning, and to sin often.

Picture the world as a giant ocean, and everyone who lives in it [the world, now a giant ocean] as a boat. There are all sorts of boats, large ones, small ones, ornate ones and disheveled ones. They all run their courses, they are all unique. But some are dirtier than others. Some carry rotten cargo; others carry filthiness and disease. And some of those boat's crew's are unskilled; they are beginners and they do their ship more harm than good.

Is that the kind of cargo and crew you want on your ship?

That analogy seems to fit for all human beings. We are all different, yet sometimes we carry bad cargo.
When I speak of an unskilled crew, then I am talking about all of our different emotions. We may not always have control over them, and therefore we let our "crew" (our emotions) tamper with our boat and harm it. Our rotten cargo could be things that we see, ungodly thoughts, or something we say. The slightest hint of rottoness will turn other boats' away from yours. The slightest perversity and vulgarity will seek to dirty your soul.

So how do we clean up our cargo and crew? How do we make our vessel pure again? How do we purify ourselves as human beings?

To begin with, reading God's word is an absolute must. Proverbs 2:1-5 says:

"My son, if you recieve my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures
then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God."

How true...how very true. If you truly try to learn from reading the bible, then you will learn. Maybe not as fast as you'd like, but still.
Also, it's important to watch what you do, say, see, hear and speak. The song "Slow Fade" comes to mind as I type these words. It really is important for us as Christians to watch what we are doing and what sort of life we are living. If you recognize a pattern of iniquity after you do or hang out with someone, then stop. In the long run, our faith is much more important. We need to be careful, we need to watch out for traps set by the world.
One last thought; we've talked about our "crew" and "cargo" but, who's steering? I think it only appropriate to link to one of my mom's posts about this, she voices it perfectly. To read it, click HERE.
I hope that from now on, all of you *gestures to anyone reading this* will watch what's going on with your "cargo" and "crew" and especially who's steering.
Adios & Blessings,
Hannah

8 comments :

  1. Wow, that's a very good message!!! Completely true too!!!

    PS: Your mom has the coolest music in the background on her blog!!!

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  2. Very good point. I had never really thought of "vessels" in that light. Great visual, and it really does apply very well. Thanks for sharing your ponderings! :)

    Also, thank you for following my blog! I am really excited to get to know you better and read more of your posts.

    I'm actually starting a monthly blogging challenge on Monday, February 2nd that I hope you will participate in. The goal is to get several bloggers to post their own original works of poetry on their blogs and then link them up on my blog. It will take place on the first Monday of every month. I will be posting more info about it this Saturday on my blog, so make sure to keep an eye out for that and get involved! It could be a great opportunity to meet some new kindred in Christ and inspire and lift each other up in Him! :)
    In His arms,
    --Abigail

    P.S. I'd be thrilled if you'd tell your friends about it too. The more the merrier!

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  3. Dear Hannah,

    Your article was beautiful. I hope that you post the Reflection Award that I gave you on this blog. You really deserve it.

    Thank you for reminding me about the truths about our Lord. Your writing was full of nuggets of wisdom.

    Continue blogging, continue writing...you know that I'm behind you...supporting you and loving you.

    And thank you for your kind words about my blog, and for linking to my post "Who's Steering?" I appreciate it.

    Love

    Mom

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  4. Excellent piece, Hannah! Have you thought about offering it as an article for Growing in Grace magazine? It looks like something that would be perfect for it. And have you thought about contests and things? You are an amazing writer for 12 years old!

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  5. Hey Bestie,
    Wow, that is so cool! It made my day. It's awesomE!!!!!!
    I'm leaving for the retreat in 'bout half an hour. I really wish you were coming along, but oh well. Has your mom decided 'bout the peels revo yet??? Has she even told you??
    Luv ya,
    Bekah

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  6. Hannah-
    Nicely done, though I hear grief poring through your words. Have you considered getting a dog yet? For the rest of you reading this, go to this site: http://www.getadogandstopthegrief.com
    to get your free animal and stop the grief!
    This is the post that I said I would write.
    Sincerely yours,
    -Vernon Smith

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  7. Hi Hannah,

    Thank you for that post. You're a very mature writer for your age. God bless you in everything.

    Sincerely,

    Emma Jean

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