Archive for September, 2023
I’m a Pot, You’re a Pot – Part Three
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (II Corinthians 4:7).
Here believers are characterized as being a clay pot. Like a useful pot there are certain things we are not.
A useful pot is not intended to call attention to itself. We are not to call attention to ourselves, but to Jesus. Each of us has a sphere of influence. Within that sphere we are to use our influence to show forth Jesus.
There are athletes who use their platform with its advantages and adversities to call attention to Jesus, not self. By their quiet, tenacious, competitive spirit, and inexhaustible effort as well as by a concise word expressing faith in Jesus our Lord is honored.
The sweet spirited saint with a major infirmity who suffers in such a manner as to show forth the sufficiency of Jesus is allowing his or her broken vessel to glorify Jesus.
The vivacious and dynamic student who lives a joyous consistent life radiating Jesus reveals the treasure of Jesus within.
The loving loyal parent who sacrificially ministers in his or her household is showing forth Jesus.
The career person who lives out faith in Jesus in the marketplace is revealing Jesus, the indwelling treasure.
Fra Bartolomeo, a renowned artist in his day, threw away his canvas and brush saying they came between him and his Lord. Such devotion is admirable. In his mind he was doing what Jesus commanded the rich young ruler whose riches separated him from the kingdom of God to do. Indeed we should remove any obstacle serving as a block between us and our Lord.
Someone suggested to Bartolomeo that instead of throwing away his brush and canvas that he use his significant skills for the Lord. They urged him: “Why should you not paint for the glory of God?” Thereafter, he painted as never before. To this day his paintings inspire awe and worship in all privileged to see them. He painted to the glory of God.
His paintings are easily identified in spite of the fact he never thereafter signed one. They are identified by the words he always painted on them in very small letters: “Pray for this painting” or “Pray for the painter.”
A useful pot is not to call attention to itself.
A group of hot-shot young executives were gathered in the company conference room waiting to meet their new CEO. These energetic young power brokers jockeyed for position to be seated near the new CEO. They amused each other with their personal exploits that they were confident would impress the new CEO. Finally one of them said, “When is he going to get here?”
The man who had quietly been walking around the room pouring coffee said, “He is already here.” With that he set the coffee pot down and took his seat at the head of the table continuing, “And he had already learned a lot.”
Humility is so uncommon it often takes us by surprise.
My fellow pots, let us show forth the treasure in us, Jesus Christ.
I’m a Pot, You’re a Pot – Part Two
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (II Corinthians 4:7).
Clay pots in the biblical era were actually large earthen jars, used for storage. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in such jars.
The ancient writer Plutarch described the victory of General Aemilius Paulus (167 B.C.) and his triumphant return home. As was the custom, victors returned in a triumphant processional. Great arches still dot Europe that were designed to celebrate certain victories. Through them the victorious army marched.
The Arc De Triomphe in Paris was begun by Napoleon as a tribute to his army. In Italy there are the Arch of Titus, the Arch of Trajan, the Arch of Constantine, and others.
The army of the defeated foe was paraded in disgrace. The treasures confiscated were often put in large clay pots and carried in the procession. Paulus is depicted as returning with 3,000 men carrying 750 clay pots filled with silver coins.
In II Corinthians 2: 14 the concept of such triumph is used as an illustration: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ…”.
We are Jesus’ clay pots in which He deposits His riches.
What an item of value is contained in it doesn’t diminish its value. The content of a vessel enhances its worth. For a pot to contain that for which it was created gives it its greatest worth.
In II Corinthians 13:5, the apostle Paul asks the Corinthian believers a question: “Or do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?”
In referring to Jesus being in you it is not speaking poetically or metaphorically. He meant that Jesus Christ is literally dwelling within us.
Just like the Corinthians, we believers today need to realize this fact about ourselves. Christ isn’t outside of us as some kind of Helper in our time of need; He actually lives in us and is with us all the time. An abiding awareness of this gives assurance He dwells within us as a GPS to guide in the smooth sea and the turbulent tide.
“Christ…lives in me,” clearly showing us that Christ lives in His believers. Because He lives in us, the Christian life is not a matter of trying to behave like Jesus, but of allowing Him to live in and through us.
Let Him guide you that you may daily live so as to reveal Him as a triumphant treasure. Let others see Jesus in you. Don’t just sing it, live it.
I’m a Pot, You’re a Pot – Part One
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (II Corinthians 4:7).
Jesus desires to fill your life and give you a sense of dignity, worth, and pride.
Much is said and written today about self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-worth. The Scripture before us gives us a beautiful self-perspective.
Emphasis on self has grown dramatically in recent years. Self-loving and self-interest are considered universal facts. As a result, in many quarters God is no longer the object of devotion, but a means by which to get what is wanted. For many, God has become a supernatural Tool. This type of religion is “hot tub religion” because it makes you feel good and requires nothing from you. Churches that advocate it are called by Charles Colson “McChurch.” Millions are being fed, but no one is being fed a balanced spiritual diet.
It is essential to encourage people to love and respect themselves. It is basic to say the church must teach how God’s word helps us with modern problems. At some point the church is going to have to tell people we are intended to love God first, not self. Only when we do love Him first can we love ourselves properly. Then we come to know who we are.
When asked, Who are you? How do you respond?
Globally oriented people might say, I’m an American.
Sports fans might say, I’m a Braves fan.
Politically minded persons might respond, I’m a Federalist.
How about, “I’m a pot!” A pot? A pot!
In describing a Christian, II Corinthians 4:7 uses the term “earthen vessel,” The Greek word “skeuos” literally means a clay pot.
A pot’s not so hot because it’s a pot. What makes it valuable is what it’s got. That is, what is in it makes it valuable.
The text in describing us as pots speaks of Jesus as being in us. That is what makes us valuable.
A pot doesn’t diminish the value of what it contains. What it contains determines its value. Jesus in you makes you a valuable person.
Expand Your World
I am glad you have chosen to read this post. I value your time, I know you do. For that reason I try to write what is worth reading.
As a high school student I resolved I would never read another book as long as I lived. That was one of the worst decisions of my life. One of the wisest things I have ever done was to rescind that foolish thought. I want to be like Theodore Roosevelt who died with a book under his pillow. He was absorbing the ideas of others to the very end.
Stagnant minds bar the door to great adventure. You may never see some of the world’s most adventurous places, but you can go there through the eyes of a good author. From such a lofty scape you can see eternity.
A closed mind can never drink from the deep well of the great minds of all ages. Let them think for you, but don’t let their understanding elude you by closing the books of their insightful wisdom.
If you obtain a complicated mechanical device about which you know little, it is wise to read the instruction manual rather than frustrate yourself wandering around in the vast unknown technology needed.
Don’t swim around in the ocean of your unknown without benefit from others who have found islands of knowledge. Collectively we can know more and function better than we can alone.
Pages containing the insights of others can lead you into new mental realms. Grand vistas of insight await you with every page you turn.
We human beings have been given an instructional manual regarding human life on planet Earth called the Bible, meaning “the book.” It has been given to us by the one who designed all human life, God. He gave it to us for the same reason the builder of your complicated mechanical device provided a how-to manual. He wants you to know how to live life to the best and get the most out of it.
There is this tag line in the Bible, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Timothy 2: 15) Study what is enfolded in the pages of the Bible that can help you understand and deal with the most complicated situations. Respond:
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes.
I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.
I will delight myself in Your statutes. I will not forget Your word.” (Psalm 119: 11, 12, 15, 16)
Did you get it, teach me that I may meditate, contemplate, and delight?
Learn from others who are smarter on a subject than you. Is God smarter than you? Let Him take you on a voyage through time and eternity. All aboard!
Getting to Know God
I thirst for knowledge, knowledge about God. A. W. Tozer has pulled back the curtain and granted us a glimpse of God. Tozer was a pastor and author of “The Knowledge of the Holy,” which is a clear, simple, and interesting work dealing with the attributes of God. Therein he writes of “The Self-Sufficiency of God.”
“Were all human beings suddenly to become blind, still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night, for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light. So, were every man on earth to become an atheist, it could not affect God in any way. He is what He is in Himself without regard for any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfection, to doubt Him takes nothing away.
“What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time, we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind regarding anything.”
In summary, God is God and what we think of Him, either good or bad, does not change His character or affect His nature, He is the one constant in our ever changing world. With Him there is no variableness.
You will find Him best revealed in the silent sanctuary of His Word, the Bible. You will find Him knowable and loveable in all of His relations with you.
He is trustworthy.
If you want to know yourself better get to know Him better for you are made in His likeness. We try to make God physically like us with human features. Instead we should strive to make us like Him spiritually. A starting characteristic is one that can change ourselves and those around us. It is found in this, “God is love.” Daily try to be like God in all things. That will mean we will love the unloving, unlovely, and unlovable. That includes those who are unlikable, unlike us, and don’t like us. Just think, God loves all of those. When the Bible says, “God so loved the world….,” “world” is code language for those noted above.
Here is good news, “world” includes you. God so loved you, He sent His Son on a rescue mission that not only provides the ultimate gift of an eternal home in heaven with Him, but with the bonus blessing of His presence with you until you get home with Him.
I don’t know what you think of God, but I do know what God thinks of you. He loves you and wants the best for you. Every act of disobedience to Him is the forfeiture of blessings for you. Get to know Him better, love Him more, and be more blessed.