Kitchen Utensils

"In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets--some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing." (2 Tim 2:20-21 MSG)

If I could choose my role in God’s kitchen, I’d like to be a fork. I enjoy being shiny and poking things. Plus, forks get used daily.

However, I think the utensil I most closely resemble is the colander. I’m full of holes. I fit awkwardly so it’s hard to find a spot for me. I’m difficult to clean. However my holes are useful for straining, sifting and separating. As life pours over me, like a sieve, I scrutinize and sort.

I have a friend who is more like a countertop in a kitchen. She holds people and situations up to the correct position so God can work on them. She supports, encourages and prays. Most of the time her role goes unnoticed, taken for granted. Imagine getting anything done in the kitchen if your counter tops were out of commission. She, herself, doesn’t realize how integral her role is.

We are not always given the roles we want. The resulting disappointment sometimes prevents us from accepting the roles we are assigned. Utensils don’t decide what they will be used for. Containers don’t tell the Chef what their purpose is. Whatever God has asked us to do today, let us do it with joyful acceptance.