We are all God’s children!

An old Roman theater in the center of Catania. Throughout
the ruins of the Roman Empire we find the influence of many nations. The Gospel
was for all. 

Scripture:

Rom. 9:19    You will say to me then, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” ²⁰ But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use? ²² What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction; ²³ and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴ including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As indeed he says in Hosea,

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’

and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”

²⁶ “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’

there they shall be called children of the living God.”

Observation:

Paul uses the imagery of pottery to help us understand the mercy of God. God is the potter, and the potter shapes and forms his creation. Certain members of the human race cannot claim that they are any more special than another — for the creator has made them all. Some have a particular purpose, and others another, but all are called by God to share in his glory. 

Application:

I have a sister-in-law who is a potter and she makes such beautiful pieces. Check her out at Dirt to Dishes https://www.facebook.com/dirttodishes. From coffee mugs to dishes to Christmas ornaments, she uses her talent to shape beautiful pieces, however, not every piece is the same. Some are larger, others are small, some have small imperfections, and yet — every piece is lovingly made by her hands. The pieces of pottery don’t get to decide that suddenly they don’t want to be a mug but would rather be an ornament on the tree. Each piece is valued and has their place. 

Jesus called his disciples to be perfect — and perfection is to fulfill the purpose for which WE have been created — each one of us — unique and beautiful in the eyes of the creator. We may be frustrated with what has been put into us, and wish we had been shaped differently. We may not like what’s baked into our DNA and yet, we are special and unique in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. The Apostle Paul spoke of his thorn in the flesh — something that was baked into him — that he didn’t like. He asked God to take it from him, over and over again — but it didn’t happen. Paul was who he was — and he was to live into the purpose for which he had been created — which was to glorify God. 

Paul was dealing with Jews and Gentiles — all of whom God had created. For the Jews it was hard to imagine that the promise of God had been extended to those who would have been considered, “Not my people.” The gracious hand of the creator has been extended to Jew and Gentile alike — and there is no longer a distinction. The master creator says you are now all my beloved!

Prayer:

Lord, who are we, as your creation, to question your mercy? I pray that we will embrace one another as children of the living God. Amen.