A Tool for His Purposes

Yesterday it dawned on me why I like this mason jar so much.

I’ve been using it for years to paint and originally tried to keep it spotless after each painting session with my son. He was a toddler when we first started using it, however, so that awas an impossible goal. Keeping the walls and furniture smudge0free as I took him and his paint-speckled hands to the bathtub was much more of a priority. So, the jar stayed smudged with paint instead, and I soon kept it with all my paint supplies.

Although I rinse it out after each painting session, it nonetheless has become more speckled and splattered throughout the years. Over time, however, a subtle beauty has emerged form that glass jar—a living story from each time it has been used.

Yesterday morning, after painting rocks with the boys to remember the empty tomb, I rinsed off the mason jar at the end of our activity, and I once again studied each color, each streak, each testimony to its quiet and steady use over time. And in that moment, I felt a nudge—a silent challenge—to be more like that jar for God’s good purposes.

The truth is, most people will never know about this glass jar that I appreciate so much. When they see my paintings (or, more likely, my oldest son’s artwork), they won’t comment on how well that jar cleaned off our paintbrushes in between paints. They’ll only comment on the colors, or perhaps even the size of the canvas and the brush strokes. They’ll certainly comment on the talent of the painter, as they’ve done so many times already with my son. The mason jar will never receive the recognition it deserves of a job well done. Not by a public audience, at least. But both my son and I know how important this jar has been, faithfully helping us to paint for all these years. And that is enough.

As God uses me in different ways throughout my lifetime, I hope I will find a deep peace in knowing that pleasing Him is enough also. Often times, the roles we play and the things God calls us to may seem so secondary to the tasks to which God may call others. But perhaps, in our quiet and steady service to Him, a subtle beauty will emerge—a living story for His glory of a greater masterpiece.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Galatians 1:10 ESV