Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; – Hebrews 3:1

Here, at the beginning of chapter 3 of Hebrews, we see the writer reminding us who we are in Christ. Though this letter is full of warnings, though it takes us by the shoulders and shakes us from time to time, in the end, the writer wants us to know who we are.

Holy–a word usually reserved for God, but the Holy Spirit wants you to know that through Christ’s work on the cross and His work in your spirit, you are holy. You are set apart.

One thing about the word holy that we miss sometimes. We tend to contrast holy with wretched, or miserable, but in truth, the opposite of holy is common–ordinary–every day.

My wife has some dishes in a china cabinet that belonged to her grandmother. On any random Tuesday in May, we’re eating off Correll. But there is a Thursday that comes up in November and we eat off Grandma’s good china. After dinner, it’s hand washed and carefully placed back in the china cabinet for the next special occasion.

The china is holy, set apart for a specific calling.

And that’s what’s going on here.

We are God’s good china, and He has a calling for each of us.

But in God’s economy, He puts out the good china every day, for everyone to see.

God created us each with specific gifts and talents that fit our calling in the body of Christ. Paul uses this image of a body, and how each part fulfills a specific function.

One big problem in the Church world is this eighty-twenty thing that everyone seems to notice.

They say (and clearly they know) that in the average church, eighty percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people.

Before we all go off angry at the eighty percent of folks who aren’t pulling their weight, let’s realize in God’s actual calling, not all are set apart for a job in the church as usher or greeter. Some are called into ministry in the world, outside the church walls. Frankly, most have callings outside the church, with the exception of the full-time staff, and I’m not even sure it’s OK to give them a pass on extra-church ministry.

But what can be observed is that eighty percent (more or less) of churchgoers are simply attendees, and don’t participate in ministry of any kind, at any time, anywhere.

Assuming they know Christ at all, they are effectively good china that NEVER comes out of the china cabinet. They are just for show. They miss their heavenly calling and go through life unfulfilled and missing God’s best for them.

If you find yourself in the china cabinet, I hope your asking, “how do I get out there on the table?”

I can’t tell you what you are called to do. But this I can tell you for sure. It’s God’s will for you to know. And it’s God will for you to be a dirty dish at the end of each day, ready for God to hand wash you and get you ready for use tomorrow.

If you start serving, maybe in church, maybe in a para-church kind of gig, if you’ll get moving, God will steer you into your destiny.

Shake off the fear of getting involved. Stir yourself and ask God where to start. It’s His will to use you, and He promised if we asked for wisdom He’d give it without reprisal.

Hey, thanks for stopping by.

Get out of the china cabinet.

Ben