I have a few items in my bottom drawer that are utterly useless to me. Things like a perfectly good power cord specifically designed for a particular power supply that no longer functions, a number of software CD's for operating versions that I don't use, a heating element for a coffee cup that has been lost.In time, these items will be discarded and thrown into the trash. I'm not a sentimental person so it will be relatively easy for me to dispose of useless items.
I'm reminded however that my life is also be useful. I don't ever want to be something that no longer has purpose or worth. The Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, asked that Mark would be sent to him in Rome as Mark was "useful" to him (2 Tim 4:11). This word "useful" is a Greek word that is also translated "profitable". Paul uses a play on the same word when he writes about another person that is useful to him.
Onesimus was a run-away slave. The Greek word "Onesis" means "profitable" and "serviceable" (ref Strongs G3682) and Paul let's all of us know that while Onesimus was once utterly useless and even rebellious, Paul found that he could be useful in ministry.
If you want to be useful, you may need to find your Paul. If you have lost your usefulness, find a way to minister to others and become profitable once again in the Kingdom. The question we need to ask is, "Are we useful or useless?"
