It is vain for you to rise up early,
to lie down late,
To eat the bread of toil;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
Behold, children are a gift of Jehovah,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
— Psalm 127:2-3
But in a great house there are not only gold and silver vessels but also wooden and earthen; and some are unto honor, and some unto dishonor. If therefore anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared unto every good work.
— Second Timothy 2:20-21
Psalm 127:3 corresponds to Second Timothy 2:20-21, which is a description of the church life. In the Bible, human beings are often described as “vessels.” Some vessels are gold and silver; these are vessels of honor. Gold represents God’s nature, and silver represents the redemptive work of Christ.
People who are constituted with God’s divine nature and with Christ’s redemptive work are vessels unto honor. There are also vessels unto dishonor, which are the wooden and earthen vessels. A wooden vessel is a natural person, and an earthen vessel is someone who works with human hands, and not with “divine hands.”
Adapted from The Journey of Life, pages 69-70.
Tomorrow: “Natural or Transformed? (2)”