Blame GOD 2
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| Image from Must Be This Tall to Ride. |
First Part Here
There's nothing that isn't from God. He alone is the Creator. He alone owns all things. The devil owns nothing. He didn't create anything. He comes only to steal, kill and destroy. Thus, when Satan tried to tempt Jesus with all the kingdoms of this world, it was true---because he stole the kingdoms from God---but God just let him, for the moment. God intends to give us back all the kingdoms of this world when he said, "Ask of me and I will give you the nations, even the ends of the earth as your possessions."
The more I know about this, the more I see that everything comes from God. He alone is responsible. And to many who suffer, he alone is to "blame." Even temptations, trials and difficulties the devil gives us are possible only with God's permission. HE tempts no one but he allows it. So, who are we to seek in times of troubles? It's God. Don't go to the devil to rebuke him. It's not in his hands. All of life is in God's hands. You rebuke the devil only when you need to put the trash out, as Jesus sent 200 demons to the pigs at Gadarenes.
But God is NEVER at fault or to blame for anything. The pot has no right to question the potter. Everything the potter does with the pot is RIGHT. And the potter has the prerogative to make one pot look better than the other. Some pots are for placing costly ornamental plants, some pots are made expensive to add elegance to mansions, and some pots are designed to get black and dirty with charcoal. But regardless, all of them were made perfectly right for their purpose. Yes, blackened and dirty cooking pots are perfect even if they eventually break apart due to exposure to intense heat and wear and tear and then thrown away into the trash heap.
So why blame the potter? He didn't make anything wrong.
And that makes all pots equal, even if one looks good, decent and elegant and the other looks trashy. It's because they all serve different purposes. Not all are made for decorating mansions or classy gardens. Thus, pots made for backyard cooking and dirty kitchens (and looking stained and ugly) are not in any way inferior to those placed in mansions. When you break both and crush them into powder, they're made of the same material, the same earth (unless there are pots made from Mars).
But there are myopic Christians who see things defectively. They do not understand the heart of the Potter. They think that ugly and dirty pots are less important than decorative pots. And some dirty pots, being themselves unfamiliar with the heart and ways of the Potter, get affected and blame the Potter for their sorry plight. Worse, lots of churches put importance only on ornamental or "showy" pots and think less of lowly pots. They even hint that these pots look ugly because they're worthless in the Potter's sight, or they're doing the wrong things. To them, looking good means doing good.
That's why today, no one wants to be soiled, blemished, muddy cooking pots. They all want to be smooth and good-looking and showy---to be mega churches. And they think the Potter thinks like pots do.
No wonder we blame God---or sometimes almost blame him for bad things that happen. Our aghast sometimes crosses the thin line and turns into blaming without us noticing it. We blame God in our hearts, although not in words. Pots think earthly, and they assume the Potter thinks the same way. But he molds each pot carefully and fondly in his hands so they'd serve specific purposes, sometimes purposes that hurt or even destroy. I mean, how else can you cook food on a cooking clay pot unless you subject it to flames and heat for long periods of time?
It's normal to feel shocked or aghast. Severe burning can shock you. And you wonder why the Potter is doing it to you while putting other pots in the comfort of secure mansions or gardens. Well, he's doing it because some poor soul (and perhaps his family, too) is hungry and needs to have his food cooked through you. Well, you don't know about it, of course, but all you have to do is trust God---that he knows what he's doing---and that someone in great need is benefiting from your unseen and unappreciated ministry with God.
God is making you his "partner" in this endeavor. Other pots won't do. They're not designed to stand intense heat. They'll crack at the slightest pressure---although they look grand and precious and important. Everybody loves them. They get the important seats in banquets, often get rewarded, honored, put in the limelight, emulated and given the best treatments. They're seen as heroes and spiritual generals in church.
But really, they'd crack in no time if sent to the dirty kitchen even to merely cook boiled eggs. They can't stand the environment of dirty kitchens where no one looks special and they are not admired or appreciated. They need grand environments and mega churches.
Imagine---God chooses you to do impossible missions with him, although it won't look glamorous and attractive to others. You do really important ministries with God himself but in hidden, secret places---in dimly lit nooks and crannies and corners of the church. In fact, you are apt to be disliked a lot. No one likes blackened clay pots whose edges are chipped or broken. Pots that look ugly and dirty. But you provide excellent food for great feasts. Without you, great men in this world will have nothing to eat.
Present MOVE: Seeing the UNSEEN in real time.
The more I know about this, the more I see that everything comes from God. He alone is responsible. And to many who suffer, he alone is to "blame." Even temptations, trials and difficulties the devil gives us are possible only with God's permission. HE tempts no one but he allows it. So, who are we to seek in times of troubles? It's God. Don't go to the devil to rebuke him. It's not in his hands. All of life is in God's hands. You rebuke the devil only when you need to put the trash out, as Jesus sent 200 demons to the pigs at Gadarenes.
But God is NEVER at fault or to blame for anything. The pot has no right to question the potter. Everything the potter does with the pot is RIGHT. And the potter has the prerogative to make one pot look better than the other. Some pots are for placing costly ornamental plants, some pots are made expensive to add elegance to mansions, and some pots are designed to get black and dirty with charcoal. But regardless, all of them were made perfectly right for their purpose. Yes, blackened and dirty cooking pots are perfect even if they eventually break apart due to exposure to intense heat and wear and tear and then thrown away into the trash heap.
So why blame the potter? He didn't make anything wrong.
And that makes all pots equal, even if one looks good, decent and elegant and the other looks trashy. It's because they all serve different purposes. Not all are made for decorating mansions or classy gardens. Thus, pots made for backyard cooking and dirty kitchens (and looking stained and ugly) are not in any way inferior to those placed in mansions. When you break both and crush them into powder, they're made of the same material, the same earth (unless there are pots made from Mars).
But there are myopic Christians who see things defectively. They do not understand the heart of the Potter. They think that ugly and dirty pots are less important than decorative pots. And some dirty pots, being themselves unfamiliar with the heart and ways of the Potter, get affected and blame the Potter for their sorry plight. Worse, lots of churches put importance only on ornamental or "showy" pots and think less of lowly pots. They even hint that these pots look ugly because they're worthless in the Potter's sight, or they're doing the wrong things. To them, looking good means doing good.
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| Image from Quote of the Day. |
You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, "You did not make me"? Can the pot say to the potter, "You know nothing"? [Isa.29.16]
No wonder we blame God---or sometimes almost blame him for bad things that happen. Our aghast sometimes crosses the thin line and turns into blaming without us noticing it. We blame God in our hearts, although not in words. Pots think earthly, and they assume the Potter thinks the same way. But he molds each pot carefully and fondly in his hands so they'd serve specific purposes, sometimes purposes that hurt or even destroy. I mean, how else can you cook food on a cooking clay pot unless you subject it to flames and heat for long periods of time?
It's normal to feel shocked or aghast. Severe burning can shock you. And you wonder why the Potter is doing it to you while putting other pots in the comfort of secure mansions or gardens. Well, he's doing it because some poor soul (and perhaps his family, too) is hungry and needs to have his food cooked through you. Well, you don't know about it, of course, but all you have to do is trust God---that he knows what he's doing---and that someone in great need is benefiting from your unseen and unappreciated ministry with God.
God is making you his "partner" in this endeavor. Other pots won't do. They're not designed to stand intense heat. They'll crack at the slightest pressure---although they look grand and precious and important. Everybody loves them. They get the important seats in banquets, often get rewarded, honored, put in the limelight, emulated and given the best treatments. They're seen as heroes and spiritual generals in church.
But really, they'd crack in no time if sent to the dirty kitchen even to merely cook boiled eggs. They can't stand the environment of dirty kitchens where no one looks special and they are not admired or appreciated. They need grand environments and mega churches.
Imagine---God chooses you to do impossible missions with him, although it won't look glamorous and attractive to others. You do really important ministries with God himself but in hidden, secret places---in dimly lit nooks and crannies and corners of the church. In fact, you are apt to be disliked a lot. No one likes blackened clay pots whose edges are chipped or broken. Pots that look ugly and dirty. But you provide excellent food for great feasts. Without you, great men in this world will have nothing to eat.
Present MOVE: Seeing the UNSEEN in real time.
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