God has a Plan for You

Read Jeremiah 18:1-12

Made, marred, and mended (v.1-4). That is a concise spiritual history of mankind; and that is precisely what this acted parable is intended to teach. Made, in the first place in the image of God, to love and serve Him, we were marred by sin. But God did not leave things there. He offered to mend us. That is why, in the New Testament, we find Jesus' emphasis on new birth (John 3), and why Paul tells us that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (II Corinthians 5:17).

Israels' refusal to go God's way had put her on a collision course with judgment - unless she changed her attitude she was scheduled for destruction as surely as unworkable clay would be reduced to a shapeless mass by the potter's hands. Re-read verses 6-11. The ability to avoid judgment was theirs (11b, 12). This lesson still has to be learned. You can't play around with God.

But God is constructive, not destructive. What sort of vessel does He wish to turn us into? See II Timothy 2:20,21. We shall not all be alike, but that is because in a "great house" as is the Kingdom of God, there are functions for vessels of many kinds. But when God wants to use us for any purpose, He does not say, "How much did this cost?", but, "Is it clean?" What interests Him most is not whether we are silver, but whether we will serve.

Prayer: Lord, make me a vessel which You can use in whatever service You have planned for me. Amen.