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Mustard Seed July/August 2006
Mind That Teakettle!
Mustard Seed - July/August 2006
Teakettle: n. a utensil having a lid, spout and handle, to boil water in.
The steps to using a teakettle are the following: first we need to get a hold of it, then open its lid to fill it with water. Next we put it on the stove and turn on the fire. When the water is boiling inside, the teakettle will announce it, by whistling, these are the steps to using a teakettle.
We must learn something from this simple process that we go through when we make tea. Our minds are like this teakettle, it has a purpose and there is a use for it. When God needs to create his character within us in our minds, he first calls us, then he opens our minds and fills it with the knowledge of his word. Then when we are baptized we receive the gift of the holy spirit of God, that is when we become a part of the body of Christ, and begin to be zealous (zeo-to boil) for God’s truth, thus praising God with our minds and through our words that come out of our mouth.
Our minds before we were called were empty, the worldly knowledge we had was nothing, useless-- similar to an empty teakettle, which by itself (empty) is useless.
So let’s review the steps that have a similarity to our situation. When we were in the world we were not in God’s usage, we were empty, then we were called. This is why God has a reason for doing certain things, God says this about us, “ it is not good for a soul to be WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE,” (Prov. 19:2) because the knowledge of the world lead to death (Gen. 2:9, 16-17, I Cor. 3:19.) The attitude we must have is the following, the same that David had, “ GIVE ME UNDERSTANDING, that I may learn your commandments” ( Ps. 119:73). Then God in his love will give us the wisdom (the water Prov. 2:6). When we were baptized we received the holy spirit, which is the fire needed to make us zealous (boiling), that was when we began to praise God with our minds and mouth just as David did, --“my mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord” (Psalm 145:21 and Psalm 149).
We must always be thankful for the wisdom and spirit that God has put into our minds, knowing always that “God gives wisdom and knowledge (Ecc. 2:26) and his spirit (Acts 5:12). We should never say that it has been through our own wisdom that we know what we know! We cannot become arrogant or conceited over what we have, because it all comes from God ( I Cor. 4:7).
-anonymous
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