Vaso
A metáfora do vaso é uma das mais belas da Bíblia. Assim como o oleiro molda o barro, Deus nos forma segundo seus propósitos, fazendo de nós vasos úteis para sua glória.
Nas mãos do oleiro
Deus é o Oleiro e nós somos o barro. Ele tem autoridade e sabedoria para nos moldar conforme sua vontade perfeita, e não devemos questionar sua obra.
You, Lord, are our Father.
We are nothing but clay,
but you are the potter
who molded us.
The Lord told me, "Jeremiah, go to the pottery shop, and when you get there, I will tell you what to say to the people."
I went there and saw the potter making clay pots on his pottery wheel. And whenever the clay would not take the shape he wanted, he would change his mind and form it into some other shape.
Then the Lord told me to say:
People of Israel, I, the Lord, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay.
But, my friend, I ask, "Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did? Doesn’t a potter have the right to make a fancy bowl and a plain bowl out of the same lump of clay?"
Israel, you have no right
to argue with your Creator.
You are merely a clay pot
shaped by a potter.
The clay doesn’t ask,
"Why did you make me this way?
Where are the handles?"
You have it all backwards.
A clay dish doesn’t say
to the potter,
"You didn’t make me.
You don’t even know how."
Vasos para honra
O cristão é chamado a ser um vaso de honra, purificado e preparado para toda boa obra. Nosso valor está em quem nos formou e no que carregamos.
In a large house some dishes are made of gold or silver, while others are made of wood or clay. Some of these are special, and others are not. This is also how it is with people. The ones who stop doing evil and make themselves pure will become special. Their lives will be holy and pleasing to their Master, and they will be able to do all kinds of good deeds.
We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.
These are Zion’s people,
worth more than purest gold;
yet they are counted worthless
like dishes of clay.
Moldados pela graça
Mesmo quando nos sentimos frágeis e imperfeitos, o poder de Deus se aperfeiçoa em nossa fraqueza. Ele nos restaura e nos renova continuamente.
Will you now destroy
someone you created?
Remember that you molded me
like a piece of clay.
So don’t turn me back
into dust once again.
Hiding hateful thoughts
behind smooth talk
is like coating a clay pot
with a cheap glaze.
The Lord's people are his flock,
and you leaders
were the shepherds.
But now it’s your turn
to be butchered like sheep.
You’ll shatter like fine pottery
dropped on the floor.
So roll on the ground,
crying and mourning.