HONOR – Rom 9:21 Has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?
God is the potter, we are the clay. We, as clay, are formed (past tense) into vessels by His hand. Some vessels were made pretty and perfect. Some vessels were just poorly made and imperfect.
First let’s talk about pretty and perfect vessels.
Perfect vessels, I guess you could say, are people that don’t have deformities. They look good, have good mental and physical health. God made them so they can hold a job, provide for a family. That does not mean that they are vessels for honor though.
Everything we have is a gift from God.
We who are normal and have normal kids should really count our blessings. God just gave us these things, We did nothing to deserve it.
We can’t even say we earned our rights to be Believers or Americans! I wake up every morning and pour my heart out in gratitude for my salvation and that I am not a father with young children trying to survive in Syria or the Sudan today!
Just because people are in a good position in life doesn’t mean they are honorable.
As we were made by the potter, we are still being formed. He is molding and shaping us every day. We are being shaped into something that will honor Him, or bring dishonor to Him. Honor has nothing to do with exterior appearances nor even the circumstances.
Honor has to do with honoring God, and living in such a way that He can honor you. The world gives honor often to the most dishonorable people. God doesn’t.
God, using the same clay, made other people that came out ‘not as perfect. In a lot of ways though they are more ‘perfect’ than us ‘perfect people’ are.
God is not done as a potter the moment we come into the world. God continues to mold and shape us our whole lives into vessels that will honor Him or dishonor Him.
We don’t really know which vessels are unto honor and which are unto dishonor, until it’s all said and done. We can’t even be sure ourselves!
Paul said “pray for me! Lest after preaching to others I may be disqualified”. The Bible is full of warnings against self righteousness ie “Take Heed lest Ye fall ”
Hardened criminals become sweet brothers in the Lord. Great pastors turn into hardened psycho/sociopaths.
God’s molding does not stop until we die. It is only then that we know what type of vessel we are, before the judgement seat of Christ.
Look at Dani in this video. Dani is blind from birth. Maybe him, and other handicapped people in this world are dishonorable in the eyes of society today. Maybe they ARE less than perfect, but NOT in the eyes of God. Nor should they be in our eyes. Many of them are on the path to be HONORABLE VESSELS, while mr and mrs Perfect will end up dishonorable.
Dani is a brilliant kid. He is kind and generous. He is a BRAVE little guy. He sees and hears things that I can’t imagine. Today, in spanish, he described to me the color of his car *light blue*.. he has never seen blue, but he made himself perfectly understood, and described blue better than anyone else I have ever heard,, it was almost spiritual.
Lots of kids get off to a dishonorable start. Definitely not pretty. Crippled kids, autistic kids, syrian kids, immigrant kids, being molded to be vessels of honor.
Healthy kids, mentally ill from being spoiled and eating too much food coloring, white sugar and ice cream may in the process of being vessels of dishonor.
How we are formed in the first place has nothing to do with how they are being formed for eternity.
Deformed or incapacitaded kids scrounging JUNK to eek out a living, in a 3rd world country seems kind of like vessels of dishonor. They may bring Honor to the Creator.
Don’t be suprised. It is An HONOR to the rest of us to know, to help, and to call friends! Even a greater honor to bring them to the feet of Jesus.
TO GOD BE THE HONOR AND GLORY FOREVER.