Vessels of Mercy

Vessels of Mercy


Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
Jer 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
Jer 18:9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
Jer 18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.


Good and evil.


Life exists upon these two points…for now.


None would dispute that our lives are filled with tragedies, filled with pain, heartache, along with joys and happy moments. Life is also filled with mediocrity, a lot of mediocrity. But that mediocrity is usually tinged with a negativity, a passiveness, a relenting to being in a state that is neither happy nor sad. I said usually because it's not always that way. Sometimes there is a peace to be found in the middle, in the lengthy in-betweens we find along the spectrum of being bookended by joy and pain.


When we think of life without any heartache and pain, without sadness we do so with a longing for that sort of life. As we enjoy memories of good times sometimes we do so with a hint of longing, of sadness that those joys are gone never to be recaptured.


When man was first formed there was no sin in him, none. Man was not created by God with sin. There wasn't even a pinprick of sin inside him.


We were made to live in a sinless existence- where there is no pain, no heartache, no tragedy, nothing that brings sadness.


When sin entered everything changed.


We are born with an innocence that quickly erodes and the day comes when we begin to make choices between right and wrong. No one can pinpoint that day, it's different for all of us, but even as children we begin to make choices and those choices eventually determine who we become and whether or not we've chosen to live for God or for ourselves.


Our Creator is with us every step of the way, knowing where our hearts are inclined. Our Savior will know our hearts and if we are His- if our hearts belong to Him- because we choose Him over ourselves, over all that would keep us from Him.


So when we read verses about our Potter and how the clay is molded- we have to do so knowing it is US who are flawed and only the righteousness of our Savior, only the mercy and grace of our Lord will save us. He is the perfect vessel that is willing to use HIS righteousness for us.


Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?


A potter molding clay makes many, many vessels. Does he set out to make vessels that are flawed? No. Does it happen that vessels do end up being flawed? Yes. Does this make the potter sad? Yes. The vessels end up in a state other than desired and unlike those inanimate vessels a person who becomes flawed and desires to remain flawed rather than choose the Savior who alone can repair them, is left flawed, is left a vessel fit for wrath.


God endures with MUCH longsuffering.


And there will be vessels of mercy- prepared unto glory!


We need to be vessel of mercy, filled with the mercy of our Savior!


All to HIS glory, all to HIS love!


IN HIM ALWAYS!


AMEN!