Unfinished Business

"The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 'Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.' Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make." (Jeremiah 18:1-4)

Oh how gracious God is to persevere with us, the "marred pots," faithfully, willingly, patiently smoothing out the uneven areas, fixing the rough edges, masterfully molding us into that which only He can see in its perfectly completed form (1 John 3:2). It sounds so flowing...so simple...

...BUT IT'S NOT ALWAYS LIKE THAT!

As human "marred pots," we do not always appreciate the work that God is doing, particularly when it starts to infringe upon some of the things we still like in our flawed form. Also, because we cannot truly envision the finished product, we can become impatient, even mistrusting, and start to believe that the work will never get done or that we need to help God out. We will often jump off His wonderful potter's wheel, and quite frankly, He will let us. He'll let us choose our own paths, orchestrate our own circumstances..."write our own ticket," so to speak...but for a child of God, what will always be written on that proverbial, self-assigned ticket are the words "Unfinished Business."

"Yes, My child, you can go here, there, EVERYWHERE, but you will have unfinished business with Me"...

"Yes, you can try to find your own way, write your own story, 'follow your dreams'; but you still will have unfinished business with Me"...

"Yes, you can choose whatever you want; but unless it contributes to making you into that which I desire, there will always be a sense of unfinished business with Me"...

God will not rest until He has completed the work He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6)...until we are more and more the "vessel...it seemed good for the potter to make." Yet if we attempt to add to or subtract from this work, or try to avoid it altogether, this will only postpone the fullness of the amazing transaction God wants to do in us by His Holy Spirit:

 (1 John 3:2)  "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

(John 5:24)  "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

(2 Corinthians 5:17)  "Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!"  

So thankfully, God will continue to write the words "Unfinished Business" on all of His children, to remind us of in Whose Hands we belong and to keep us from going too far away from Him. And even if there is still a faded uppercase "U" or portions of a little "f" from the "Unfinished Business" still present on us when it is time to go Home with Him, He will make sure that the final touches to His work are completed as we enter into His Presence (1 Corinthians 15:52). But for now, we must continuously submit ourselves to God as the marred pots that we are, trust in His Perfecting Handiwork, and consistently cooperate with the movements of the Potter's Merciful Hands.

                                                                                                                                           
Thank you, God, so very, very much.

In His Love,

Terri

Blow on Our Garden

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7)

"You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon...

...Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits." (Song of Solomon 4:12-16)

Although I have seen different interpretations of this passage from the book Song of Solomon, a beautiful and even romantic exchange between "The Beloved" (often read as being Jesus) and the Shulamite woman (either an individual follower of Jesus or the Bride/His Body as a whole), another way of receiving it came to mind recently that I wanted to share with you.

While reading, instead of seeing the north and south winds being something apart from "the beloved," a picture came to mind of Jesus Himself coming to "the garden," blowing on it, and thus bringing to life the Shulamite woman and ultimately...us. (Interestingly, it looks like one of the meanings of the Hebrew word for "blow" is to exhale or breathe!). Just as the breath that came from God imparted life to Adam and Eve: a life that could commune with Him, and thus truly be considered living, so too is the result of what happens to an individual when Jesus exhales life...His Life...into him or her.

Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere.

I used to think that being "born again" was an adjective that described a Christian: as in "born again Christian." But when I consider this image of Jesus Himself coming and supernaturally imparting into us his "breath of life," allowing for the "finest spices," the "choicest fruits," and "a well of flowing water" to have the chance to be released from within us (Galatians 4:6, 2 Corinthians 2:16, Galatians 5:22-23, John 7:38), the words "born again" take on a meaning that cannot be illustrated using human terms. It is truly a miracle that we have One who wants to not only romance us, but to give His life for us and to give His life to us. We do have an amazing God, who has given us His amazing Son. Thank you, God, and Hallelujah.

Breathe (video w/lyrics)
(lyrics by Michael W. Smith)

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm I'm lost without you

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm I'm lost without you

And I, I'm desperate for you,
And I, I'm lost without you,

I'm lost without you,

I'm lost without you.

I'm lost without you.

I'm lost without you Lord,

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm lost without you.


Amen