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“Instruments of God”—What a lovely thought!
Each instrument was badly out of tune but
now is fine-tuned to His standard to make
beautiful music and harmony. Now they are
fitted into the plan that God has
orchestrated for our lives individually and
for our part in the orchestra of His church
producing the melodious sounds that together
we send out to the world to win it to
Christ.
“God has been kind enough to trust us with
this work. That’s why we never give up. We
are like clay jars in which this treasure is
stored. The real power comes from God and
not from us” (2 Corinthians 1:1, 7).
Not only are we “instruments” for God, we
are vessels that God has ordained to contain
His fullness through Christ Jesus.
“Just as parents are kind to their children,
the Lord is kind to all who worship him,
because he knows we are made of dust” (Psalm
103:13, 14).
Wonder of wonders—God remembers; He knows!
That we are created from and are but dust.
He knows because it is He who created us.
At the time this scripture was written, a
vessel, lamp, was made from “dust” of the
earth (clay). The lamp-vessel was used to
hold precious oil that was burned to produce
light which dispelled darkness.
The “treasure,” the light, has been given to
us who are but vessels made from dust
to shine from our perishable ‘earthen
vessels’ that the glory of God through
Christ Jesus may be reflected through us and
illuminate the darkness of this world.
We see by these verses that the glory of God
is not in this clay vessel, which is but a
container of the precious light. There is
neither glory nor honor for this vessel
apart from the precious treasure it
contains. It is not our shape or color, but
the priceless contents that make it a vessel
of honor and great value.
Isn’t it amazing that God would trust these
frail, flawed, cracked pots (and sometimes
crack-pots!) to hold His treasure of
light and grace. J. B Phillips wrote,
“Christ is the aperture through which the
immensity and magnificence of God can be
seen.” So it is only as Christ dwells in
His fullness in us that our “vessels” can
show forth the glory of God.
“Father, what a marvelous thing you have
done! You have taken these out-of-tune
instruments and fine-tuned them to make
beautiful harmony for you. You have seen
these earthen vessels and know that they are
but dust, but you have blessed them with
Your light and grace for Your glory through
Jesus Christ.
“May we allow the Holy Spirit to make us
more conscious of our contents and not limit Your
power by our own frailties, but help us to
allow you to mold our vessels and tune our
instruments and use us as You please for
Your glory. We know we can never achieve
worthiness by our own might or
our own power, but it is by Your spirit.
Make us lighted vessels and harmonious
instruments in Your kingdom.”
~~~Delores~~~
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