In Jeremiah 18, the Lord brings Jeremiah to view a Potter working
and gives him a message:
3 So I went down to the potter’s house,
and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 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.
In
this passage, the potter reforms something into something else. I find this image intriguing as the Lord shapes
us into new creatures every day. What I
learned through a pottery class was that you cannot be a potter and create a
pot unless you understand the purpose for what the object you are creating is
intended for and understand its design. Isn’t
that just what the Lord does in regard to us?
He not only shapes us, but understands beforehand why we are being
shaped into the vessel or pot as He knows our purpose. He understands all of our smooth
and rough edges and works them out until they are perfectly formed. If the clay is not smoothed out at least
internally, it will crumble. If the clay
is too dry, it will crack. The Lord
continually refines us; working out the bumps and rough places in our character. The Lord does not intend to see us perish.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as
some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
As
any parent does that loves their child, the Lord Jehovah provides us a warning
that His will always triumphs. If we do
not turn from our sinful ways and allow ourselves to be molded and refined, we
will find ourselves rebuilt until we are broken. Even broken pottery can be used for something
else.
5 Then the word of the Lord came
to me. 6 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. 7 If at any time I announce that a
nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents
of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had
planned. 9 And if at another
time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 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.
11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those
living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says:
Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against
you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your
ways and your actions.’ 12 But they will
reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all
follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”
The
way to change a nation is to change our heart and share the Lord’s good news
with the world around us in the way the Lord intended for us. We must allow the Lord to change us and keep
us on the narrow road which changes the world around us. If I understand my purpose is to glorify Him,
the choices are easier. Spending more
time at the wheel, I understand the seasons in my life when there is “more
water” than other times and when it seems the Lord's fingers are more forcefully remolding the clay. I am strong for
He has made me so. America, too, is strong - a nation created to freely worship the Lord based solely on free will and in turn we have been freely governed. I am grateful that in all things, the Lord remains in control.
We are Christ’s ambassadors, as
though God were making his appeal through us. We implore
you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20
