Earthen Vessels

(Based on a thought from John Fischer's @ PurposeDrivenLife.com).


"If everything is coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane."

Actually, having everything coming at you may not necessarily mean you're in the wrong lane when it comes to personal growth. I would go as far as to suggest that everything going your way is probably a condition to be much less trusted than feeling like you're driving into oncoming traffic.

I don't see God as merely doling out ease and contentment--His long-term interest lies more in the areas of refining and shaping us to conform more to the image of Christ, and none of that comes easy. Scripture indicates that the process by which this comes about includes, among other things, trials (James 1:2-3), suffering (Romans 5:3-4), discipline (Hebrews 12:7), and a growing sense of our own mortality (2 Corinthians 5:4-5). In one illustration, Paul uses the metaphor of an earthen vessel to explain our human condition and how God uses us (2 Corinthians 4:7).

To think about an earthen vessel (a piece of pottery) is to get an accurate picture of what we can expect in this life. A pot begins as a lump of clay that is kneaded and slammed until all the air is pressed out of it and the lump is the right consistency to form into something useful. Then it is placed on a potter's wheel where the potter molds and shapes it, spinning it in his wet hands, until its sides are stretched out and up into a shape that can hold something. But wait, there's more.

Then it is set on a shelf and allowed to dry before the real fun part begins -- the firing -- after which it is glazed and then fired again. Finally it is ready to be used, and that usually includes some pretty rough treatment -- a seemingly endless pattern of getting dirty and being cleaned only to get dirty again. Over time it ages and cracks with use, but according to Paul's illustration, this only lets out more of what it contains, which is described as the light of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6) -- for we are indeed this vessel. It is a process that gradually de-emphasizes us and more and more emphasizes what we contain.

Which is to say that when everything seems to be coming your way (trials, hardship, testing times) you are probably in the right lane after all. It's the society we live in that thinks we deserve to have everything go our way. God never guaranteed anything of the kind, at least in this life. But He did say He would be with us, always.

Brings to mind the little song...

Change my heart, oh God, make it ever true;
change my heart, oh God, may I be like you.
You are the potter, I am the clay,
mold me and remake me, this is what I pray.
Change my heart, oh God, make it ever true;
change my heart, oh God, may I be like you.



You've been prayed for today...