Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Empty Vessels


UV 1518/10000 Empty Vessels




For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Romans 12 v 3

The Lord has given a portion of His grace to each believer. Like He filled the six stone jars of water at the marriage at Canna with wine that was required for the feast, He fills our lives with grace and makes our lives a “grace fiesta” or a Festival of Grace. Every day we have a different kind of need and every day He meets that need abundantly. St Paul was one of the greatest of saints and apostles and yet he considered himself not highly but as the worst of sinners, a person who is needy of the grace of the Lord. Paul exhorts each of us not to be high minded or think of ourselves superior or more able or more virtuous or more worthy than others. We should think soberly and assess ourselves realistically in accordance with the measure of faith and love in evidence in our lives. Our self thought and self talk can stop or aid the flow of grace in and through our lives. God’s self thought is “ I AM WHO I AM.” Our self thought if it is sober and not egoistic, proud or conceited ought to be “ I AM WHAT I AM BY THE GRACE OF GOD.” It is never about me but about Him acting in me or on me or around me or with me.

Every day we must be willing to do the Lord’s bidding. Like the servants who did what they were told as instructed by Mary, the mother of Jesus, we should just obey the Lord’s word. The stone jars were washed and clean. We must keep the different areas of our lives- speech, sex life, thought life, emotions, relationships and work - washed with the blood of the Lamb, sanctified by the Holy Spirit and clean. The six jars were filled with water- a symbol of the living Word of God since water sustains life, quenches thirst and meets need. Similarly, in each of these six areas of our lives we should be filled with the knowledge of the specific word that is applicable and experience a transformation similar to water being changed into the best of wine. Back in primary school, a certain strict class teacher caught me talking and made me write an imposition: I had to write in a notebook scores of times: “ Empty vessels make the most noise.” Today, I wish to revise what she made me write: “Empty vessels hold the most grace.” We need to think of ourselves as empty vessels crying to be filled with the all sufficient grace of God.

The juice of grapes when it is fermented in earthen or stone jars and matures it becomes wine. Similarly, our faith when it matures and ferments in our bodies, minds and spirits, it bubbles up as love. Faith and love are two faces of divine coinage. These two together can meet our every need. Whenever we think that our faith is strong and complete, we must turn the side of the coin and check if we are lacking in love. Whenever we are confident that our love is complete, we must turn to the other side and check the status of our faith. If we think soberly and humbly, the Lord will supply the grace or He will fill the gaps or make up for the deficiencies in either our faith or our love. If we compare ourselves with others and feel we are better or superior, the Lord cannot fill us with His grace. Like the stone jars that hold water, we need to retain or hold the Word for some time. We will hold it if we consider His Word precious and powerful. To every stone jar in our life, we need to add the Word, stir it with prayer in our spirit and the outworking of grace will begin in every area- physical, intellectual, social, emotional, financial, professional and above all, spiritual realms.
Prateep V Philip

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