"Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me." - Acts 27:25
In the corporate world, we are told a sure-fire way to get ahead in the game is to exceed the expectations of our employer. In the job I currently work in, this attitude is exemplified in a monthly "grinder" award wherein one employee is chosen by their peers as someone who went beyond the call of duty to accomplish something positive for the company beyond their routine duties.
Meeting or exceeding expectations can be a double-edge sword. Now it is typically true that an individual can find success in their chosen profession by learning their employer's expectations and adopting the work ethic and self discipline needed to exceed those expectations. However, the sad reality that many such 'go-getters' have learned over time is corporate glory is often a hollow prize with an enormous personal price-tag.
That isn't to say we should settle for mediocrity either. Having personal ambitions and goals is certainly a key component to a successful life. However, for the child of God who is serious about following Christ, there are a whole new set of concepts that fly directly in the face of our understanding of human expectations about life, success, and our purpose for existence.
The verse of scripture quoted above has been an eye opener for me personally. As I've shared with you, God has frequently used His Word to speak directly to me concerning issues I'm dealing with and this is one of those verses. In fact, my Bible has opened to this scripture more than once in recent weeks.
The setting of this verse is a shipwreck. Paul is on his way to Rome to eventually be put in prison for the remainder of his days on earth. His crime is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. His attitude concerning his current and future situation is one that has eluded me for the bulk of my adult life.
What you are reading in Acts 27 is a man who is fully submitted to "The Potter". His circumstances could not be any less favorable to him. In fact, his future from this point forward is only going to worsen, at least from a purely human perspective. What is most amazing to me about that fact is Paul is completely aware that "chains and tribulations" figure prominently in his future. Armed with that knowledge, Paul has obediently submitted himself to those chains and tribulations so that he could, and I'm quoting Paul now, "finish my course with joy".
It is very important that this point be made clear. Paul is using the power of his free will to choose to lay down his own desires for himself (personal ambition, goals, or plans for 'success') in favor of God's desires for him; desires which include chains, tribulations, prison, and ultimately death.
This is the pinnacle of practical Christianity. The ultimate goal of becoming a "vessel of honor" is on full display here. Paul is standing in the middle of a literal storm proclaiming his undying faith in God despite the incredible wealth of observable evidence that God has left and forsaken him. The only logical conclusions one could draw from this scene is Paul is either a stark raving religious lunatic or he knows something no one else on that ship knows.
Naturally we are reading this story with 20/20 hindsight so we know the outcome of Paul's story. We know how God used Him in not only ministering to the people who crossed his path, but the countless multitudes of people who have experienced God's life-changing power through the truths written by Paul's Holy Spirit-inspired hand while he was in prison. We can look at the completed picture and see God's foresight, wisdom, and power on full display through Paul's experiences and marvel at the complex simplicity of God's methods in working through His submitted saints.
But, if you were on that ship with Paul and heard this prisoner declare his faith in God during a devastating set of unfavorable circumstances, you would undoubtedly come to the conclusion that Paul had lost his mind.
The truth of the matter is, God's methods do seem completely insane to our natural thought processes. The Bible is full of stories of improbable military victories (Jericho), impossible miracles (Jesus' healing ministry), and implausible spiritual redemption methods (the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ) that defies every ounce of humanity's natural logic and scientific understanding. Agnostics and atheists alike point to stories in the Bible like Noah's ark, the Red Sea crossing, or Jonah's fish tale as irrefutable evidence that the only people who would believe the Bible is a credible source of historical events or proof of God's existence are the uneducated (at best) or certifiably insane (at worst).
But, for those who believe in God at any level, there is a fairly basic understanding that God's ways are not our ways. From Eden to Armageddon, the Bible is pregnant with examples of this singular truth. Rarely, if ever, does God interact with humanity in a way that makes sense to us. In fact, as I sit here writing this blog, I cannot think of a single time in recorded history where God did anything that was expected, anticipated, or even logical to our finite human brains.
And yet, the single biggest problem we believers seem to have with God centers around whether or not God meets or exceeds our expectations of Him.
Paul has no such limitations. The scene in Acts 27 is a perfect example of a born again saint in 100% submission to God. For Paul, human logic, understanding, and personal expectations have all been tossed out of the window and have been replaced with hope, faith, and love for God and the people God places in front of him. Just as Paul had said to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:24, he no longer needed to survive. Paul had traded his need for survival for God's divinely appointed plan for his life.
This is the end result of the Potter's process. The creation of a consistently submitted saint who has been completely transformed from a self-willed, self-centered, selfish church attendee to a Spirit-filled, God-led, humbly submitted spiritual warrior who is 'all-in' with Yahweh, Jehovah, and the Comforter.
I've skipped to the end of the Potter's Process for a reason. What you are reading here is a perfect example of a completed 'vessel of honor' at work. At this stage of his life, Paul is as obedient to the will of the Father as Jesus Christ Himself. This is not blasphemy, this is the point of all of the Christian teachings after the gospel and baptism. The ultimate goal of the conversion of a lost sinner into a born again saint is not just to save us FROM something but to save us FOR something...specifically God's preordained calling for each individual believer in Jesus Christ.
Which brings us right back to the "why am I here?" question.
In Paul's case, his Divine purpose had been made abundantly clear from the beginning of his walk with God, including suffering "for [God's] name's sake. If you are a student of the Bible, you understand the impact the Apostle Paul made on the world, and is STILL making through his divinely-inspired writings. But unless you've spent a good deal of time digging into the details of Paul's life, it would be easy to assume that Paul hit the ground running in his divinely appointed purpose the day after his Damascus road experience with God and never looked back.
And not just Paul. The Bible is full of testimonies of men and women who were used by God to literally change the world at every conceivable level. Again, it is easy to assume these men and women were prefabricated followers of God who just popped out of the earth already "prepared for every good work". However, the truth of the matter is, with very few exceptions, every one of these world-changing saints had to go through the exact same process that you and I face as God-called believers in Jesus Christ.
So, the bigger question remains, what is this process? How does God get us from point "A" to point "B"? What is the Potter's method for creating a vessel of honor out of a flawed lump of clay like me? Well, to answer that question, we need to move from the metaphorical to the literal. Since the Bible uses pottery as a metaphor for God's method of perfecting His people, it makes sense to take a look at what it takes to make an actual clay pot and compare it to the spiritual process of conforming us into the image of God's Son, right?
So, put on your smocks and get ready to get your hands dirty. It's time to make some pots.
Stay tuned, true believers...more to come.
Meeting or exceeding expectations can be a double-edge sword. Now it is typically true that an individual can find success in their chosen profession by learning their employer's expectations and adopting the work ethic and self discipline needed to exceed those expectations. However, the sad reality that many such 'go-getters' have learned over time is corporate glory is often a hollow prize with an enormous personal price-tag.
That isn't to say we should settle for mediocrity either. Having personal ambitions and goals is certainly a key component to a successful life. However, for the child of God who is serious about following Christ, there are a whole new set of concepts that fly directly in the face of our understanding of human expectations about life, success, and our purpose for existence.
The verse of scripture quoted above has been an eye opener for me personally. As I've shared with you, God has frequently used His Word to speak directly to me concerning issues I'm dealing with and this is one of those verses. In fact, my Bible has opened to this scripture more than once in recent weeks.
The setting of this verse is a shipwreck. Paul is on his way to Rome to eventually be put in prison for the remainder of his days on earth. His crime is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. His attitude concerning his current and future situation is one that has eluded me for the bulk of my adult life.
What you are reading in Acts 27 is a man who is fully submitted to "The Potter". His circumstances could not be any less favorable to him. In fact, his future from this point forward is only going to worsen, at least from a purely human perspective. What is most amazing to me about that fact is Paul is completely aware that "chains and tribulations" figure prominently in his future. Armed with that knowledge, Paul has obediently submitted himself to those chains and tribulations so that he could, and I'm quoting Paul now, "finish my course with joy".
It is very important that this point be made clear. Paul is using the power of his free will to choose to lay down his own desires for himself (personal ambition, goals, or plans for 'success') in favor of God's desires for him; desires which include chains, tribulations, prison, and ultimately death.
This is the pinnacle of practical Christianity. The ultimate goal of becoming a "vessel of honor" is on full display here. Paul is standing in the middle of a literal storm proclaiming his undying faith in God despite the incredible wealth of observable evidence that God has left and forsaken him. The only logical conclusions one could draw from this scene is Paul is either a stark raving religious lunatic or he knows something no one else on that ship knows.
Naturally we are reading this story with 20/20 hindsight so we know the outcome of Paul's story. We know how God used Him in not only ministering to the people who crossed his path, but the countless multitudes of people who have experienced God's life-changing power through the truths written by Paul's Holy Spirit-inspired hand while he was in prison. We can look at the completed picture and see God's foresight, wisdom, and power on full display through Paul's experiences and marvel at the complex simplicity of God's methods in working through His submitted saints.
But, if you were on that ship with Paul and heard this prisoner declare his faith in God during a devastating set of unfavorable circumstances, you would undoubtedly come to the conclusion that Paul had lost his mind.
The truth of the matter is, God's methods do seem completely insane to our natural thought processes. The Bible is full of stories of improbable military victories (Jericho), impossible miracles (Jesus' healing ministry), and implausible spiritual redemption methods (the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ) that defies every ounce of humanity's natural logic and scientific understanding. Agnostics and atheists alike point to stories in the Bible like Noah's ark, the Red Sea crossing, or Jonah's fish tale as irrefutable evidence that the only people who would believe the Bible is a credible source of historical events or proof of God's existence are the uneducated (at best) or certifiably insane (at worst).
But, for those who believe in God at any level, there is a fairly basic understanding that God's ways are not our ways. From Eden to Armageddon, the Bible is pregnant with examples of this singular truth. Rarely, if ever, does God interact with humanity in a way that makes sense to us. In fact, as I sit here writing this blog, I cannot think of a single time in recorded history where God did anything that was expected, anticipated, or even logical to our finite human brains.
And yet, the single biggest problem we believers seem to have with God centers around whether or not God meets or exceeds our expectations of Him.
Paul has no such limitations. The scene in Acts 27 is a perfect example of a born again saint in 100% submission to God. For Paul, human logic, understanding, and personal expectations have all been tossed out of the window and have been replaced with hope, faith, and love for God and the people God places in front of him. Just as Paul had said to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:24, he no longer needed to survive. Paul had traded his need for survival for God's divinely appointed plan for his life.
This is the end result of the Potter's process. The creation of a consistently submitted saint who has been completely transformed from a self-willed, self-centered, selfish church attendee to a Spirit-filled, God-led, humbly submitted spiritual warrior who is 'all-in' with Yahweh, Jehovah, and the Comforter.
I've skipped to the end of the Potter's Process for a reason. What you are reading here is a perfect example of a completed 'vessel of honor' at work. At this stage of his life, Paul is as obedient to the will of the Father as Jesus Christ Himself. This is not blasphemy, this is the point of all of the Christian teachings after the gospel and baptism. The ultimate goal of the conversion of a lost sinner into a born again saint is not just to save us FROM something but to save us FOR something...specifically God's preordained calling for each individual believer in Jesus Christ.
Which brings us right back to the "why am I here?" question.
In Paul's case, his Divine purpose had been made abundantly clear from the beginning of his walk with God, including suffering "for [God's] name's sake. If you are a student of the Bible, you understand the impact the Apostle Paul made on the world, and is STILL making through his divinely-inspired writings. But unless you've spent a good deal of time digging into the details of Paul's life, it would be easy to assume that Paul hit the ground running in his divinely appointed purpose the day after his Damascus road experience with God and never looked back.
And not just Paul. The Bible is full of testimonies of men and women who were used by God to literally change the world at every conceivable level. Again, it is easy to assume these men and women were prefabricated followers of God who just popped out of the earth already "prepared for every good work". However, the truth of the matter is, with very few exceptions, every one of these world-changing saints had to go through the exact same process that you and I face as God-called believers in Jesus Christ.
So, the bigger question remains, what is this process? How does God get us from point "A" to point "B"? What is the Potter's method for creating a vessel of honor out of a flawed lump of clay like me? Well, to answer that question, we need to move from the metaphorical to the literal. Since the Bible uses pottery as a metaphor for God's method of perfecting His people, it makes sense to take a look at what it takes to make an actual clay pot and compare it to the spiritual process of conforming us into the image of God's Son, right?
So, put on your smocks and get ready to get your hands dirty. It's time to make some pots.
Stay tuned, true believers...more to come.
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