My husband taught a wonderful message the other week with the gradeschool kids that God continues to use in my life.
The lesson was based on, O Lord you are the Father. We are the clay and you are the potter. We are the work of your hands Isaiah 64:8
I have soo much I could write about this lesson - but the only thought I want to write about now is what God spoke to me about the verse last night. So often we hear this theme of "striving" to be more christlike. "Try our best".... "strive to be more like Him" and so on and really I believe it presents the wrong picture about what the christian life is about. I agree that we need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12) but I don't think the "work" is anything that we can contribute other than our submission. The work is obedience. The work is *abiding*. HIS work will be done in us, our work is to listen, conform and allow the Potter to mold and shape and define what we are to be.
Our value is not in our end use as a vase or bowl or cup. Our value is in being the clay. Knowing we are being molded (together!) as His beautiful Bride to present to Himself perfect and without blemish. (Check out Ephesians 5:22-27 about the role of the church, us, His Bride to support this point even more).
The value is in the process and in who is making us. If a vase in the process of being made kept trying to "help" the potter by trying harder, trying even with good intentions to work itself into what it feels it should look like..... the truth is, that vase will just get in the way of the Potter's work. Imagine a potter trying to create a beautiful piece of work that kept working and moving on its own. The vase finds its value in submitting to the Potter's touch and learning to shift and obey only when the Holy Spirit, the Potter's fingers, in a way, leads and says to. All the praise and glory and honor goes to the Potter.
1 comment:
I agree 100%. We often think "If I just try harder..." but it's all about submission and obedience. My uncle used to say, "The trouble with living sacrifices is they keep crawling off the altar!" Imagine trying to give a haircut to an sugar-hyped two year old. The chances of a good outcome are slim. How patient out Father is. He waits for the light bulb to come on... for us to relax and submit and stop struggling.
The joy is in the journey...
Phil 3:12-15 (MSG) ~
"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it."
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