GOD’S SECOND BEST!

GOD’S SECOND BEST!

Jer 18:3-4

3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

1 Cor 12:14-18

14 For the body is not one member, but many.

15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

           The word “marred” in Jeremiah means “ruined or spoiled.” I have lived long enough to know many people who thought their lives were spoiled by either poor decisions or a sad twist of fate. These people plod through life thinking that they are doomed to settle for God’s second best for their lives. But take a closer look at the portions of scripture selected for today.

           The vessel in Jeremiah was marred “in” the potter’s hand but not necessarily “by” the potter. I don’t want to twist this point too much but I think it is significant. While being fashioned by the potter’s hand something happened that caused the potter to change his mind about the design! It could never be a bowl so He made it a cup instead … “as it hath pleased him.”

           As we jump to the New Testament, Paul reminds the Corinthians that there is not a favored part of the body. It is foolish to imagine an argument between the various parts as to which of them are the more important. The eye proudly states that the body would stumble in the dark without the eye. The ear argues that he is the most important because he makes it possible to hear fine music. Each part makes similar arguments but all are mistaken. None of them have had to settle for second best. Each of them are exactly where God has placed them.

           Handicaps and mishaps come in various shapes and colors. Each one forces us to make adjustments in our lives. Some of them cause us to wonder if we have had to settle for God’s second best. Seriously flawed decisions have produced deep scars in some and have ruined certain plans and goals. Sometimes it is the evil actions of others that have wounded us so that we are unfit for our dreams. We tend to live the rest of our lives in disappointment.

           Could it be that what we think is God’s second best might actually be God’s original plan for us? Fanny Crosby was blinded as an infant but she wrote hundreds of poems, songs and hymns. Joni Erickson Toda was crippled by a dive into the Chesapeake Bay as a teenager but her very handicap has launched an international ministry. Our wounds define us! The potter has made us “another vessel as it has pleased him.”

Dear Lord, I don’t want to live the rest of my life disappointed in what I am not. I want to be glad for what you have made me. Thank you for making me exactly what pleases you. AMEN