PVC Blog Post by Meg Wilson
As a visual learner, I love a good picture metaphor. I want to share one I find myself using a lot especially when talking about the blessings, Holy Spirit, and resources of the Lord.
Picture white PVC pipe, the type used in buildings and homes for plumbing. Its sole purpose is to allow what the Builder designed to flow through it. I am often reminded how God’s children, in a way, represent this plastic PVC pipe. In the plumbing world PVC stands for Polyvinyl Chloride, but for this metaphor I like to call us the Personal Vessels for Christ (PVC).
Just as healthy pipe should be free of debris or anything that could clog it, we too must be free of the debris which keeps God’s Spirit, love, plans, and resources from flowing through us. The Builder decides how the PVC pipe is laid to make sure water gets where it needs to go. The pipe itself doesn’t decide where the water goes. It also isn’t responsible to create the water; it is simply a conduit of the water.
In the same way, the Lord (our Master Builder) establishes our purpose and assigns resources to flow through our lives. Just as the water isn’t provided for the pipe’s sake but for an ordained purpose, so too should the gifts God gave us pass through our lives and be shared with His people.
Emotional Residue
Now perhaps a PVC Pipe was laid to take sewage out to a treatment plant. The pipe doesn’t feel like the Builder has made a mistake. It simply allows the dirty work to be accomplished. There are times when the suffering of the Lord flows through our lives in a seemingly endless stream of stinky situations. Trust that the Master Builder has a plan to use that too. If we allow ourselves to be clogged by the muck of unforgiveness and self-pity, the Master Builder is here to clean out emotional residue and let others see the glory of God in our process. 
Paul wrote in Philippians 4:12 (NIV), “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want.”
Paul doesn’t let anything keep him from serving the Lord, neither the financial gifts nor the suffering; they all are for the Lord’s Glory. The whole chapter is worth reading as Paul so clearly gives the Lord credit for all.
Related Post: Oil That Breaks the Yoke of Pain
Picture This:
Christ paid for the pipe, redemption through His Blood made me a PVC (Personal Vessel for Christ), and obedience keeps me where the Master Builder lays me whether in plenty or in want. Sanctification is the process of keeping the pipe clean. As we allow circumstances of our life to flow as the Master Builder intends, we get to see the hand of the Lord do more than we could ever think or ask.
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