Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." - 2 Timothy 2:19-21
I have chosen the name of this blog, "Musings From The Kiln", very carefully. I went through several names before stumbling onto this one. The concept comes straight out of the Bible and it is meant to focus on God's method of perfecting His people by way of the pottery metaphor.
God references pottery quite a bit in the Bible. In fact, one of His titles is "The Potter". The basic idea behind this metaphor speaks of a detailed process of transformation from raw clay to finished "vessel" or a usable vase or pot.
Now the idea of being a spiritual "pot" may not be an attractive sounding goal for you but what the pottery metaphor actually speaks to is the idea of being a "vessel of honor" which the Bible describes as a "sanctified and useful" vessel "prepared for every good work".
In short, it is in this pottery process that we discover God's answer to the question, "Why am I here?"
No doubt you've heard a preacher or two speak on the concept of God's plans for each of his children. I know I've spoken a few thousand times on the idea that God has a predestined path for each of his born-again saints. This path requires a level of relationship with God that, frankly, most Christians rarely achieve. The reason for this lack of relational achievement can be summed up into one word: submission.
Generally speaking, Americanized Christianity has a difficult time with the concept of submission. If you grew up in America, you were undoubtedly taught the concept of self-reliance. We are instructed from a very young age to approach life's challenges with a "do-it-yourself" mentality just like our forebears did throughout our country's history. American history is filled with tales of men and women who defied the odds, stood up against tyranny and oppression, and overcame overwhelming obstacles through sheer force of will and stubborn pride. Even in our modern culture, we elevate those who overcome their humble beginnings by pulling themselves out of poverty or difficult circumstances to achieve observable levels of success as measured by our understanding of the word.
Most of us enter our relationship with God with a vice-like grip on our American dreams and personal desires for success and achievement. More often than not, God becomes a footnote to our plans for our lives. Rarely does God's plans for us come into full view unless His plans coincide with our own. Consequently, most of us have no problem praising and worshipping Him when things go our way. But when things go against our expectations and plans...
It is certainly not unprecedented for blood-washed children of God to walk away from God when things aren't going our way. This relational parting isn't always manifested in easily observable ways. Certainly we can see it when a formerly faithful church attendee suddenly drops their church attendance and goes on the Prodigal Son tour of rebellion and "wasteful living". But it has been my experience that we can sever any real meaningful relationship with God while still attending church and even participating in church activities. Our churches are filled with saints who have stopped learning and growing and have settled into their favorite pew in their favorite sanctuary to simply "occupy" till Jesus comes. For far too many of God's people, that word "occupy" doesn't mean "capturing enemy territory" (which was the intended definition of the word) but rather have chosen to interpret the word "occupy" to mean "take up space".
The Potter's plans for us require us to live in a state of perpetual spiritual growth, regardless of our age or church tenure. Our personal growth and development as Christians does not happen by accident. We must "purpose in our hearts" to consistently and habitually submit to God's Word, Will, and Ways if we are to ever see God's plans for us manifested in our lives. It really is that simple. Unfortunately, bending the knee to submit to God on a regular basis is as foreign to most of God's people as fluently speaking in an unlearned foreign tongue. I have found that submitting to God is the most difficult component of practical Christianity. To put aside our wants, wishes, and desires for our lives in favor of God's plans for us is, frankly, a deal breaker for many of God's people.
Honestly, as long as we resist God's instructions to humbly submit to Him, we will never discover the will of God for our lives.
But don't listen to me. Listen to the scriptures
Want to know the plans of the Potter for your lives? Are you searching for the will of God for you? The road to discovery starts with Romans 12:1. Presenting our bodies as a 'living sacrifice' is a poetically Biblical way to say 'submit to God'. It is only when we choose to yield our will to God's will that we begin a walk with God that few have ever experienced.
I wish I could tell you I'm writing this from a position of total submission to the Potter. I'm not. Like many of my contemporary believers, I struggle with this concept on a daily basis. I want what I want when I want it and I don't want to wait on the Lord's timing. His timing is slower than mine. His path is filled with challenges and frustrations that I don't want to deal with. His plans for me are rarely the same as my plans for me. So I struggle, wrestle, and fight with God. I run from Him when the going gets tough and try to fix my circumstances to my satisfaction in the power of my talents and skills. I lean towards self-reliance instead of humble submission, especially when I am faced with challenges that I feel I have some control over.
Because of this position I have placed myself, I have discovered a lack of God's favor in my life. Like the prodigal, I have found myself in life's pig-pen more times than I can count simply because of my stubborn pride.
The Potter's desire is to form me into a vessel of honor. But until I choose to become soft clay, The Potter cannot do anything with me except work on me to soften me...
...and guess what the Potter has to do to soften hard clay?
To be continued...
Now the idea of being a spiritual "pot" may not be an attractive sounding goal for you but what the pottery metaphor actually speaks to is the idea of being a "vessel of honor" which the Bible describes as a "sanctified and useful" vessel "prepared for every good work".
In short, it is in this pottery process that we discover God's answer to the question, "Why am I here?"
No doubt you've heard a preacher or two speak on the concept of God's plans for each of his children. I know I've spoken a few thousand times on the idea that God has a predestined path for each of his born-again saints. This path requires a level of relationship with God that, frankly, most Christians rarely achieve. The reason for this lack of relational achievement can be summed up into one word: submission.
Generally speaking, Americanized Christianity has a difficult time with the concept of submission. If you grew up in America, you were undoubtedly taught the concept of self-reliance. We are instructed from a very young age to approach life's challenges with a "do-it-yourself" mentality just like our forebears did throughout our country's history. American history is filled with tales of men and women who defied the odds, stood up against tyranny and oppression, and overcame overwhelming obstacles through sheer force of will and stubborn pride. Even in our modern culture, we elevate those who overcome their humble beginnings by pulling themselves out of poverty or difficult circumstances to achieve observable levels of success as measured by our understanding of the word.
Most of us enter our relationship with God with a vice-like grip on our American dreams and personal desires for success and achievement. More often than not, God becomes a footnote to our plans for our lives. Rarely does God's plans for us come into full view unless His plans coincide with our own. Consequently, most of us have no problem praising and worshipping Him when things go our way. But when things go against our expectations and plans...
It is certainly not unprecedented for blood-washed children of God to walk away from God when things aren't going our way. This relational parting isn't always manifested in easily observable ways. Certainly we can see it when a formerly faithful church attendee suddenly drops their church attendance and goes on the Prodigal Son tour of rebellion and "wasteful living". But it has been my experience that we can sever any real meaningful relationship with God while still attending church and even participating in church activities. Our churches are filled with saints who have stopped learning and growing and have settled into their favorite pew in their favorite sanctuary to simply "occupy" till Jesus comes. For far too many of God's people, that word "occupy" doesn't mean "capturing enemy territory" (which was the intended definition of the word) but rather have chosen to interpret the word "occupy" to mean "take up space".
The Potter's plans for us require us to live in a state of perpetual spiritual growth, regardless of our age or church tenure. Our personal growth and development as Christians does not happen by accident. We must "purpose in our hearts" to consistently and habitually submit to God's Word, Will, and Ways if we are to ever see God's plans for us manifested in our lives. It really is that simple. Unfortunately, bending the knee to submit to God on a regular basis is as foreign to most of God's people as fluently speaking in an unlearned foreign tongue. I have found that submitting to God is the most difficult component of practical Christianity. To put aside our wants, wishes, and desires for our lives in favor of God's plans for us is, frankly, a deal breaker for many of God's people.
Honestly, as long as we resist God's instructions to humbly submit to Him, we will never discover the will of God for our lives.
But don't listen to me. Listen to the scriptures
Want to know the plans of the Potter for your lives? Are you searching for the will of God for you? The road to discovery starts with Romans 12:1. Presenting our bodies as a 'living sacrifice' is a poetically Biblical way to say 'submit to God'. It is only when we choose to yield our will to God's will that we begin a walk with God that few have ever experienced.
I wish I could tell you I'm writing this from a position of total submission to the Potter. I'm not. Like many of my contemporary believers, I struggle with this concept on a daily basis. I want what I want when I want it and I don't want to wait on the Lord's timing. His timing is slower than mine. His path is filled with challenges and frustrations that I don't want to deal with. His plans for me are rarely the same as my plans for me. So I struggle, wrestle, and fight with God. I run from Him when the going gets tough and try to fix my circumstances to my satisfaction in the power of my talents and skills. I lean towards self-reliance instead of humble submission, especially when I am faced with challenges that I feel I have some control over.
Because of this position I have placed myself, I have discovered a lack of God's favor in my life. Like the prodigal, I have found myself in life's pig-pen more times than I can count simply because of my stubborn pride.
The Potter's desire is to form me into a vessel of honor. But until I choose to become soft clay, The Potter cannot do anything with me except work on me to soften me...
...and guess what the Potter has to do to soften hard clay?
To be continued...
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