Marred But Mendable

Hello brothers and sisters. I went to a pottery class awhile ago and while I am a lover of crafts and hand-making things, pottery is really not my forte. It takes a lot of patience, controlling of pressure being put in and a sense of the shape you want to create as the pottery wheel spins. Most of the time, my vase will go out of shape and the instructor is heavily guiding me. But pottery is also a really great example and reminder of the intricacy and skills of our Lord in planning and shaping us, as well as the nature of clay, that resembles us.

We all want to be a nice piece of work, but many times, we can start well, but be marred in the middle, by some failures, setbacks, weaknesses, shame or hurts. But it does not stop there. We are all a work in progress until the day we meet Jesus again. But till then, do we see that we have a masterful Potter in charge of our making?

Now in Jeremiah 18, the word from the Lord came to Jeremiah during a time when Jehoiakim was reigning and the nation was quickly backsliding from God. But God wanted to illustrate His ultimate sovereignty over the nation and urge the people back to Him. So God told Jeremiah in this example in Jeremiah 18:2-4, ““Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.  But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” Here we can catch a few points. Now, just like the marred clay, we have faced times of being spiritually impaired by some experiences. In a state like this, the clay is probably not functional nor looking good on the outside. But note that the potter took that mangled piece and formed it into another pot. Another, meaning something totally different from what it was. And it was made into a pot, a vessel with a function to serve. We can be struggling with ways we are incapable of, people’s critics, some mistakes along the path, bad choices. But if we, instead of being tied down by these, but allow the Potter to shape our hearts and minds, we will then find new direction and purpose, even as we are walking out of our brokenness. And the very first thing to give thanks for is that the Lord did not leave us on the pottery wheel to harden, but pick us up to be mended by His Word, His promises and His church. Even as we feel lousy in our clumpy state, the Lord shows here, that even a marred clay has immense value to the Potter to be made new again. As the Lord continues to tell Jeremiah about His people whom are in a fallen state, in Jeremiah 18:5-10 “ Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.” Now I remember during my pottery class, defects may appear as I am molding the clay. It could be some cracks or jagged edges at the top. And sometimes, we are also given tools to create lines and swirls for the piece. So the potter has power over the clay. Whether to permit some defects, add on some touches or reshape it all over again. Likewise in the verses above, the Lord has the power to reshape the nation, or our lives in His sovereignty and perfect will. So we should not be mindless and passive towards God’s leading and nudges of the Holy Spirit. Instead, be a reactive clay that is willing and receptive to God’s impact on us. Does the Lord want us to remain in self blame or keep recalculating how we could have done things a different way and avoided some faults? Or are we going to just internalise the words of men and let it cripple us? Are we really only the sum of our failures? Is God really shortchanging us? Or is it merely that we are currently not in sync with God’s heartbeat? Are we just unhappy because things are not panning out the way we want? Have we really sought, tested and approved God’s reason in these hurdles?
As Jeremiah 18:4 says again, the clay that the potter was reshaping “was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” Shaping it as seemed best to the Lord, not to us. Surely, we live in a world now that hates to be conformed. But it is such that the Lord requires of us when it comes to our faith in Him. If not, just like Judah, when not repented, their hearts will harden the wrong way. And a stiff clay cannot be remoulded or be of any use. It is no longer about getting certain outcomes we deem fit or achievements we desire for the moment. But God only knows that if we are not impacted by His touch, through the shaping of His word and His convictions, very soon, our hearts will no longer be sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We will be easily swept away by the influences of the world and the foundation of our faith will only be laid on the shifting sands of the circumstances around us.

So actually, brothers and sisters, what delight and thankfulness we should have, that the Lord loves us enough to continue working on us, even through our cracks and defects. As we yield to God, He will keep moulding us into His valuable vessels, as what seems best in His plans. God bless.