The person who finds himself useful in any constructive undertaking certainly has a plus on his side, for where usefulness blooms, meaning and value thrive, engendering such offspring as motivation, vigor, and resilience. And what is true on the whole spectrum of life is heightened when applied to the Christian life, for as we all know, the contrast between a motivated Christian and a bored Christian is simply astonishing. The former emanates life, the latter languor. The first inspires, the second dispirits; not to mention the chasm between their respective fruit and demeanor.

The foundation of Christian usefulness.

When we speak of Christian usefulness, we don’t refer to the state of affairs a go-getter finds himself in, or to the carnal zeal an eager beaver expresses when seeking glory for himself. We rather refer to the position of a trusty, being used, due to his steadfastness and devotedness. The difference between the two can be expressed as follows: the ambitious high-flyer is self-appointed. In contrast, the useful Christian is divinely appointed. His usefulness is an actual outgrowth of God’s given gifts, which God has imparted, based on his preparation and cleansing.

A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.” (Prov. 18:16)

This verse reveals that the useful Christian doesn’t need to sweat his way to usefulness. It is brought to him by way of providence. He only needs to say yes when the time comes. The Apostle Paul puts it this way:

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. (2 Tim. 2:20-21)

Here Paul refers to a self-imposed cleansing that makes a person useful for the Master.

The first thing to remark is that the vessel for honor is sanctified, that is, it is set apart. For instance, when I was a child, my mother had a pair of scissors used solely for cutting hair. It was set apart, so to speak, dedicated to this specific use. Actually, it was this exclusiveness that made it useful for cutting hair. Had it been used to cut paper, aluminum foil, foam trays, etc., it would have lost its usefulness for cutting hair. The same is to be applied to 2 Timothy 2:21. In this verse, the vessel for honor is separated from what is profane and dedicated to God. In other words, that person has passed from koinos, “common”, to hagios, “holy”. With this in mind, let’s read again 2 Timothy 2:21,

Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”

So the person who sets himself apart for the Master’s use is thereby made useful; that is, God will not leave such a person on a shelf since He is actually looking for such vessels.

To hope to be a useful Christian while flirting with the world is an illusion that has bamboozled small and great. These sorts of Christians might prove useful in reaching their egocentric aim, but not in the aim the Master has set.

The need for availability

It is also crystal clear that to be useful a Christian must be available. The person who fills his schedule with worldly affairs will find himself ill-prepared for the Master’s use. Actually, that is precisely what we have seen so far: to be useful, a person needs to be set apart. Timothy was such a man, and as we all know, he was useful in multiple ways. For instance, the apostle Paul could write to him and say:

Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica” (2 Tim. 4:9-10).

The way Paul writes implies Timothy’s availability, an availability rooted in his being set apart. The same with Mark:

Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:11).

These men were at the disposal of the apostle Paul, who in turn was at the disposal of God. It is this collaboration that made their ministry so powerful. Now you might say, “Brother Simon, not everybody can have the availability of Timothy and Mark”. That might be true in part, but in part only, for the fact remains: when a person is not available to God, he cannot be useful to Him. This is absolutely logical. Try to get around it and you will understand the dilemma. This well-grounded and practical truth forms the foundation of usefulness.

At this point, each one of us must stop and consider a few things. That there is a lack of consecration and dedication among us evangelicals is beyond question, for the spiritual and moral landscape witnesses to the scarcity of available workers. We can set the records as we want, but the truth remains unshaken: a large number of evangelical Christians live in the periphery of uselessness. And it is so because they offer little or no availability.

At the beginning of this little post I wrote: “Where usefulness blooms, meaning and value thrive, engendering such offspring as motivation, vigor, and resilience.” If there is any truth to that statement, motivation, vigor, and resilience must be at a low ebb in the evangelical world nowadays, and it is our responsibility to do something about it.

The root of the problem

All this should not sound new to any of us. It simply resumes the conditions of discipleship.

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

The “following” Jesus refers to is self-evidently contingent on availability. Actually, the very Lordship of Christ implies availability. The problem is that for a very long time, discipleship has been regarded as optional. Yet it remains that only a disciple can be truly regarded as available, and therefore useful. We only need to read our Bible to realize that it is so. All the useful people we read about in the Scriptures had made themselves available; that is to say, they were used of God because they were free to be used.

Brother Andrew, from Open Doors, had it right when he said: “God does not choose people because of their ability, but because of their availability.” This, and little else, is the root from which usefulness grows.