Book Review by Michael Lekgetho

When I received a copy of this book, Vessels of Glory and scanned the contents page and then started reading it, I realised that Vezi, the author got it spot on with both title and content. This is really the 101 on how to bring and represent the Kingdom of God on earth as followers of Christ Jesus.

In Vessels of Glory, Vezi gave us a wakeup call by reminding us that we are not of this world and that we are still on a journey and our thoughts and actions must be focussed on the destiny and no longer the journey. Vezi demonstrated how we have neglected if not ignored our purpose or great commission of winning souls back to God to an extent that we forgot who we are and instead became part of the judgmental society we reside in.

Vessels of Glory is a mirror which really reflects who we are and challenges us to change our attitudes, conduct and direction from where we are today spiritually as ambassadors of Christ to where we are supposed to be in our walk with God. This book further reminds us that we are actually the vessels of glory and we cannot allow or settle to be defined by world standards, materials and status.

Vezi reminds us that even after the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God did not revoke His Will for Humankind. God so loved us, that he established a plan to rescue humankind from slavery of sin and corruption of the earth by the forces of darkness in John 3:16 (NLT), “For this is how God loved the world; He gave his one and only Son (Jesus Christ), so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Here God was setting the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships – He paid dearly with the life of his Son, the highest price he could pay. Jesus Christ, one who would be the perfect expression of His will on earth, accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins in order to reconcile us with God.

However, the demand that God makes of us, as vessels of His glory on earth, is that we must be set apart for the expression of His heart for humanity. We are further persuaded to take our identity in Christ Jesus, while pursuing God’s agenda for humanity through our words and deeds which includes more than Bible study, prayer and attending church. This book really challenges us to follow Christ and observe his ways and how he overcame the world, hence we being the followers of Christ.

My take-away from reading Vessels of Glory is about the will of God for humankind. Unless we understand that it is not our will or the will of Christ that needs to be done on earth but it’s the Will of God – we must honor God through Jesus Christ and live as he wants us to do.

The Will of God for Humankind

Here is a quote from Vezi, “Therefore if you believe in Jesus Christ, like those first generation disciples, you are also commissioned to represent the character of God on earth and for His will to be done on earth through you. This, you are to do by driving out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead and announcing that humankind can be set free from the oppressive world system”

Here is how Jesus stated in John 6: 37- 40, “However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will, 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

There is nothing as beautiful as walking according to the Lord’s directives in all areas of your life. Jesus did not work independently of God the Father, but in union with him. This should give us even more assurance that Jesus’ purpose was to do the will of God, not to satisfy Jesus human desires. So when we follow Jesus, we should have the same purpose of doing God’s will and helping to bring his work of salvation to completion and not our own selfish desires.

Transcending the Other Side of Privilege

Here is another quote from Vezi, “it is God’s desire for all humankind to have eternal life. (See 1 Timothy 2:4.) Concomitantly, we are called to make disciples of all peoples: privileged and underprivileged, oppressors and the oppressed, abusers and the abused! In this regard, He has provided for us a perfect model from transcending the wrong side of privilege.”

However, I would have loved to hear more about the fate of the privileged or rather the rich people out there. The question that I want to ask is this, does God desire to save all mankind relatively without distinction of race, social position, nationality etc. or does God wants to save all mankind meaning each and every individual?

The reason for this question is based on my observation that even when Jesus Christ was responding to a rich man and telling him to sell his wealth; it became difficult for the rich man to do so. On the other hand, considering how Jesus announced His ministry in Luke 4: 18 that He has been anointed to proclaim good news to the poor, He was sent to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour etc. I would like to know as to which criteria or category are the poor, rich, oppressed etc. classified or referred to as mentioned in the above scripture?

Above all, I would like to appreciate the moments and experiences of God’s love to mankind and how Jesus vividly showed us how to love our enemies and neighbours as ourselves as well as ministering God’s love by haling the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead.

Lastly, I can’t express my patience while waiting to read and hear more about how to deal with pain as a journey. I follow the author’s pain when his company was liquidated, when he had no income (unemployed) with a mountain of debt etc. How did Vezi overcome such situation if not the pain as a family man?

I must commend Vezi and his family for such as inspiring and easy to read guide. Vessels of Glory should be part of every household as we have seen the contributions by all family members.

As for me and my household, our lives will never be the same.

May God enlarge your territory and bless you abundantly.

MICHAEL LEKGETHO