Earthen Vessels

Yesterday I blogged about the worth of a human being, today I would like to go into an interesting statement in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.“ I think some people have trouble with the idea of earthen vessels. What does that mean, exactly? Some years ago I heard someone compare the earthen vessels in this passage to paper bags. Imagine carrying a significant amount of gold dust in a paper bag, through a thunderstorm. Any thinking person would do everything they could to keep the bag dry, because if the bag gets really wet, it will fall apart, and the gold dust will wash away. Besides that, the gold is heavy, and paper just isn’t that strong to start with. It’s an interesting analogy, and I think that it is a valuable, but I also think that it misses the point.
Most of the newer translations use the term ‘jars of clay,’ or something similar, to indicate that the vessel is a little more substantial than a paper bag, but, at the same time, it implies that the clay has been fired in a kiln, which it may or may not have been in this instance. If you stop and think, a clay vessel that has not been fired isn’t really that much more substantial than a paper bag. If the clay has been fired, it is considerably more substantial. Apostle Peter makes reference to our faith being tried by fire, so how substantial you are as a vessel (as a Christian) depends upon how much your faith has been tried, how much you (as a Christian) have endured.
Isaiah also makes reference to us as clay, in Isaiah 64:8 and also in Isaiah 19:16 but the latter describes us in terms of clay pots trying to become greater than the potter. We will never be greater than our creator. Some would try to say that we are not created beings, relegating the potter to a character in some ancient mythology, and yet, here we are.
Jeremiah also talks about the potter and the clay, in Jeremiah 18:4. I have heard some protest that it talks about the potter purposely marring the clay, but, really, it doesn’t. Jeremiah says that the clay was marred in the potter’s hand, not marred by the potter’s hand, and in any case, if you keep reading, the potter fixed the problem. He had to take the clay back to lump form, and rebuild whatever it was he was making (the passage uses the term vessel, so, pot? vase? some kind of container).
Apostle Paul also wrote to the Romans about forming vessels out of clay in Romans 9:21. In this passage, Paul talks about the potter, from one lump of clay, forming one vessel of honor, and another of dishonor. Some have said that this proves that God creates evil. I don’t think that is what Paul is saying. I think that he’s just saying that the potter has control over the finished product—if he wants to make a decorative pot, that can’t really hold anything, that’s his prerogative. It’s not up to us even to decide whether the pot is honorable or dishonorable; it’s up to the potter to decide if the pot suits his purpose.
Luke talks about the stone falling on people, and grinding them to powder. It occurs to me that, if a clay pot, after it has been fired, gets broken or damaged, the only thing the potter can do with it is to grind it to powder, and mix it in with fresh clay, and start over again. This would not be the same vessel, of course, it would be something entirely new. He might choose not to use the powder in the new product at all; again, that’s his prerogative.
Of course, the ultimate reference as far as us being earthen, is in Genesis 2:7, where God formed Adam from the dust of the earth. But the excellency that is in us is the Spirit of God. This is more valuable than anything on this earth. We are valuable only because we are containers, or more correctly conduits, for the Spirit of God. Our value comes from what we have to offer, which is not us. We’re just bits of dirt and water that God has chosen to use for His glory.

Can a Leopard Change Its Spots?

A couple of things came together in my mind recently: A comment that Arthur Blank (owner of the Atlanta Falcons), and a song introduction.

Arthur Blank said, of Michael Vick's comment that he had turned his life over to God, "God gives us the ability to make choices and what we do with those choices is our responsibility, not God’s responsibility.” Can Michael Vick change? The expression of course, is that leopards can't change their spots, but people are not leopards, and behaviors, even deeply ingrown ones, are not things that we necessarily carry from birth to the grave. Some behaviors are difficult to change; there are many twelve step programs out there to facilitate change. I don't think that Peta has come up with a twelve step program for treating animals humanely, though.

The song introduction was for a song called, "The Potter's Hand." The song title comes from a scripture in Isaiah 64:8. The basic idea is that, just as Adam was formed from the dust of the earth, God has formed each of us for His use, and His purpose. We don't always want to be used the way He wants to use us, but, it's very much like a vase that has been formed by an artisan suddenly deciding that it would rather be a sugar bowl. Let's face it, even though they might be formed from the same clay, and even fired in the same kiln, a vase isn't going to make a very good sugar bowl. You could break the vase into pieces, and then grind the pieces into powder, and then mix the powder into fresh clay and make a sugar bowl, but that's a lot of work, and probably not worth the trouble. Sometimes God has to go through pretty much that same process with us, because we have tried to recreate ourselves in the image that we would like to have and ended up just making ourselves useless...

The bottom line is, sometimes people do change. Not as often as we should, probably, but we do. It is certainly easier with God's help, but, even then, we have to acknowledge that He created us for His plan. Our plans won't always mesh with God's plan, but He has a better view of the 'big picture.' There was a cartoon that went around a few years back that showed a golfer praying for a sunny day, while a farmer prayed for rain. Sometimes it may not seem like God has your best interests at heart, but He does. Give it time, and see how His plan works out, even if that means that you have to change.