Melted Down, Poured Out

Just in case you missed it late last year, I have some new favorites in my life. One of those is Mrs. Esther Burroughs, whom I had the privilege to meet last November in NC. 

She is a Godly woman and a great teacher to women (who will listen) - both young and old. While in NC, I picked up a couple of her books because I knew after hearing her speak that I'd want more from her and it's safe to say I was right. I've finished a couple of them, loaned one of them out (a book on building family legacies - SOOO good) and now I'm working on another one entitled Empowered: Claiming the Power of the Holy Spirit. Like the other books I've read, I have enjoyed and been challenged by this one. But two paragraphs that I read just tonight resonated with me after a week of waging war on various levels and topics in my personal life. I give to you that selection of writing:

During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government began to run low on silver coins. Lord Cromwell sent his men to the local cathedrals to see if they could find any precious metals. The men reported, "The only silver we could find was the statues of the saints standing in the corners," to which the radical soldier and statesman of England replied, "Good. We'll melt down the saints and put them into circulation!"

Just imagine--melted saints circulating through the mainstream of humanity, bringing value to everyday life. Not the saints who are dressed up in three-piece-suits or shiny silk dresses, comfortably seated on padded pews every Sunday. No, Jesus desires that we be "melted down" saints in the marketplaces of life--on campuses, in shops, in corporate offices, in homes, on the streets--everywhere there are people. We are not to be statues in the church--shiny and polished. We are to be melted down--as in "poured out"--moving through our marketplace as saints empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

On more than one occasion this week has my prayer been for me to basically be "melted down" so that I can be "poured out," to even be broken before the melting and the pouring. "Melted saints circulating through the mainstream of humanity bringing value to everyday life." Sadly, I did not act like this on more than one occasion this week. 


God use me where I'm at. It may not be my desire, but it's where you have me. Teach me to be content where you have me.