The parable of the potter

Have you ever watched a potter at work or even taken a pottery class? The prophet Jeremiah visited a pottery workshop. Not out of curiosity or because he was looking for a new hobby, but because God commanded him to do so: «Open up and go down to the potter's house; there I will let you hear my words" (Jeremiah 18,2).

Long before Jeremiah was born, God was already at work as a potter in his life, and God continues this work throughout his life. God said to Jeremiah, "I knew you before I formed (formed) you in the womb, and before you were born I chose you to serve only for myself" (Jeremiah 1,5 Hope for all).

Before a potter can make a beautiful pot, he selects the clay that should be as smooth as possible in his hand. He softens the existing hard lumps with water and makes the clay flexible and malleable so that he can shape the vessel as he pleases according to his ability. The shaped vessels are placed in a very hot oven.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we all have many hard lumps in our lives. We allow Jesus to remove them by the power of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah makes it very clear that God is our Father and that He formed us from the dust: «Now, Lord, you are our Father! We are clay, you are our potter, and we are all the work of your hands" (Isaiah 64,7).

In the potter's house, the prophet Jeremiah watched the potter at work and saw the first pot fail as he worked. What will the potter do now? He didn't throw away the faulty vessel, used the same clay and made another pot out of it, just as he pleased. Then God said to Jeremiah: « Can I not deal with you, O house of Israel, like this potter? says the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you also in my hand, house of Israel" (Jeremiah 18,6).

Just like the tone of Jeremiah's story, we humans are flawed vessels. God does not throw away what goes wrong. He chose us in Christ Jesus. As we give our lives to him, he molds, presses, pulls and squeezes us like flexible clay in his image. The creative process begins again, patiently, practiced and with the greatest care. God does not give up: "For we are his work, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2,10).

All his works are known to him from eternity, and God does what he pleases with the clay in his hands. Do we have faith in God, our master potter? God's Word tells us that we can have complete trust in Him, for: "I am confident that the one who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1,6).

By placing us as lumps of clay on this earth's potter's wheel, God is shaping us into the new creation He willed us to be from the foundation of the world! God is active in each of us, in all the events and challenges that our life brings. But beyond the difficulties and trials we face, whether they involve health, finances, or the loss of a loved one, God is with us.

Jeremiah's visit to the potter shows us what will become of us when we surrender our lives to this creative and merciful God. Then He forms you into a vessel that He fills with His love, blessings and grace. From this vessel he would like to distribute what he has placed in you to other people. Everything is connected and has a purpose: God's shaping hand and the shape of your life; the different form that he gives us humans as a vessel corresponds to the task to which he has called each of us.

by Natu Moti