This Scripture always intrigued me.  I read in verse 20  "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also [utensils] of wood an earthen ware, and some for honorable and noble [use] and some for menial and ignoble [use].

It is very obvious that the Lord speaks here of His house, and that we are the "noble" or "ignoble" utensils. -------- I always said to the Lord.  " Well Lord, I try my utmost best to be a "noble utensil",  but say you choose to make me the dustbin, and you choose my fellow brother and sister to be the bone china tea set. And another to be the Solid wood Frontdoor, nicely carved with a beautiful pattern on it"   I somehow always felt deep in my heart that that is not fair of the Lord.  (sorry but I must be honest).  

The years went by and often I thought of that Scripture--------wondering.  I thought no matter how hard I try to be "noble" He will just pick and choose those that He likes more, to be the "noble utensils" -------- Please I write this in holy reverence, but if we take off our masks, there is 
lots of Scriptures that we just cannot understand and satan places a question mark in our minds concerning the wonderful God and Heavenly Father we serve.  But let me tell you this today.  If we do not understand a Scripture clearly right now, someday He w i l l make it plain to us, or ask someone who may be able to explain it to you.  Everything will make sense I guarantee you.  His intentions with us are pure and he is righteous and just and fair.  He is not the Person satan loves to tell us how He is in satan's eyes.  But we often listen to the enemy and fall for the same thing Eve fell in the garden of Eden.  satan planted doubt in her heart namely that God is not just and He hides things from them with bad intentions.I tell you in
this day that the only Omnipotent and Sovereign God has always got good intentions with us, even while we don't understand His ways always. --------But now for the g o o d part!!!!!

Lets read the next verse.   Wow!!!!!!! what a 
verse.  It says. "So whoever cleanses himself 
[from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences] will[then himself]  be a 
vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the 
Master, fit and ready for any good work."

Ooooooooooooh Sooooooooooo.  Old slufoot was lying again.  The Lord clearly states here that to be an "honorable utensil"  rests on our shoulders.  We are the ones that will determine that.   ----- Oh deary me.  "Susan, what are you going to be?. the dustbin or the Lounge suite or a precious vase, the backdoor, the doormat or perhaps the most 
beautiful frontdoor.  You know like the one on 
Santa Barbara, only much nicer, and all will have to pass through me to get into the house , and they will stand in wonder at the skillfulness of the Carpenter who carved a beautiful pattern on me." ---The Lord gave me something about this frontdoor.  I saw in my mind this stunning door.  ---But suddenly I realized that to become one I will have to go through a lot of processes, and in the process it will sometimes hurt me.  Yea, sure I want to be the frontdoor, but am I willing to go through the valleys of life that God sends my way-------- That's His ways and processes to make a "honorable" utensil.

Well lets start from the beginning.  I don't know the process that wood goes through to make anything, but I will use my imagination and the little I know.-------- To become a door,  first the tree must be chopped down.  Ouch!! then it must be sawed into planks so that the Carpenter can work with it.  Ouch!!!!!.  Then He puts me through another lot of saws to "cut me to size".  Ouch.!!!!.  Then He takes the hammer and hammer some nails into me.  Ooooo, outch!!! again.  But most likely He will glue a "brother" tightly next to me to make us look like one piece of wood. Ouch!! I don't like this brother that He glued next to me and I am stuck with him forever. Ooooooooh  this is not nice.  Then comes the carving.  Ouch ouch!! it hurts so much I can't take it any longer and on top of it the carving flows from me into my fellow brother and sister  to make us one in the Lord. I just better love this "brother" of mine.  I have no choice.  I am glued to him for eternity.   Well Susan if you want to be the Frontdoor you better accept what it takes to become one..............am I right?.

So dear fellow child of the Living God  me and you  can determine ourselves what "utensil" we will be. 
It is not in God's hands, it is up to us and in our hands. -------He is the great Potter and we are 
the clay.  Are we willing to take what it costs to be a honorable "utensil"?............I would love to be a honorable "utensil" in His house.  So Susan will have to work hard  and strive and submit, submit, submit.   Oh  how difficult to submit isn't it.............  I am going to try to do His will every day of my life.  What about you.

Listen to what He says in verse 21  He says "that 
we must separate us from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences............. "
Oh dear, then I cannot look at the program on TV that is mostly always contaminating.  I may not look and keep on looking after they sweared the name of my Lord and Saviour's Name.  "My God" they say or even "Jesus", precious Jesus' Name has become a swearword.  Oh! what sin and  corrupting influence it is. We see murder, violence, adultery, rape etc. etc. and we keep on looking and has lots of excuses why it is Ok to do so..........Well then we will be the dustbin where all the rubbish will be througn in, or even risk our souls to go to Hell.

My dear reader,  I plead with you in this day.  Let
us separate us from everything and all that is not from God.  If Jesus can accompany you in whatever you do, go right on, but if He can't we will be sinning, not doing His will but choose  to be of ignoble use in His Holy holy holy house, if we don't repent we will surely go to Hell!!!!!!!!
 

I must tell you that what I wrote, touched my 
heart for I was writing as the Lord led me and I 
am the first to pray.
 
  "Lord help me.  I need Your help so urgently in my life, for I fail You so often.  Begin to work with Susan. I need Your help."

May the Lord bless this word to your hearts.
Susan.
 
Copyright (c) 2002.Susan Treptow
 
 

Music: Home At Last"