Broken Pots: Through the Prism of God's Grace

This reading is based on Jeremiah 19 that is read in accordance with the Revived by His Word initiative of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Prisms: an Object Lesson

I recall my high school physics class when for the first time I discovered that white light (what we normally get from the bulbs in our homes, and the headlamps on our cars, etc) is actually made up of many colours (I believe the colours of the rainbow). What we did in order to see the spectrum of individual colours making up the light was to shine a beam of light through a prism (a specially shaped glass object). As the mono-colour entered the prism on one side what came out on the other side of the prism were all the colour that are combined to make white light. Verse 11 of Jeremiah 19 speaks of God breaking His people as one would break a potter's vessel that cannot be repaired. Is this a hopeless picture painted? Let's look at the broken pot phenomenon through the prism of God's grace.

God's Frustration Flows - as From a Broken Pot

The utterances of Jeremiah 19 come across with gushing finality - as from a God who, like a broken vessel that cannot withhold the outflow of its contents, can no longer restrain His anger and frustration over a rebellious people. There will come a time when enough will be enough, and God will have to execute the words of His mouth. But as with the manner in which He treated Nineveh, what He mostly appears to be aiming at is to apply to us shock therapy that He hopes will jerk us into the reality of the danger we're courting.

                           

Broken Pots Ministries

Some of the most noble ministries today are borne from the bowels of our brokenness. It is much like Jesus who through His personal suffering is that much more qualified to succor us, and to be our High Priest. Our miseries mold us for mission, our tests are transformed into testimonies, and our trials transport us to triumph. Through God's amazing grace our brokenness does not have to be final, but rather fitting us to fill vital spots on the mission field.

Prayer of Consecration

Father, today we acknowledge the call You have given us to mission that based on our peculiar past we have been prepared to perform. Grant us now Thy Holy Spirit we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Charles Evans

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