It Starts Small

2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Jeremiah 18:2

Pottery is the oldest art form that has not changed since its birth. It’s an unchanged art form. The majority of historical artifacts found are broken pieces of pottery from an age long past. Pottery has been found in the ocean, on land, and high up in mountain tops. These scriptures in Jeremiah tell us, and give us assurance, that when we are broken vessels, there’s hope! God only uses the broken.

When we look at these scriptures we have to consider the vessel as it was made. God is the artist and I am the clay. God wants to make something beautiful of my life.

Clay: We were made from the dust of the earth. Clay is dust with water added to it. Clay by its self is unclean, unlovely, and can’t make its self into anything without a potter.

God takes the clay and makes something useful out of it. Self made men are people who think they can mold their own lives.

The wheel: our daily lives are represented by the wheel. Our lives are constantly turning and we are constantly surrounded by circumstances. As it turns we must always remember all things work for the good to those love God. (Romans 8:28) Every turn of the wheel is God making me what he wants in me.

God’s thoughts are not my thoughts and God’s ways are not my way. we will never understand God until we understand his ways. We may not understand everything, but we can trust all things work together for the good of those who love God when we are on his wheel.

We also need to consider a vessel that is marred.

Since we represent the clay, we need to learn what makes clay unusable? There was nothing wrong with the Potter. The potter did not create the flaws in the clay. The issues in the clay. The clay had hidden impurities and flaws. Deep down there’s hidden sin and God, our potter knows all about us. So often we depend on our reputation with people, but no one knows our heart. You can hide from others, but you can’t hide it from God. Our repentance is key to God molding and shaping our lives.

Clay can become non pliable. This sort of clay is stiff, unyielding clay. This sort of clay represents those living in rebellion. The type of person refuses to yield to the Lord. They live in selfishness and pride. The longer we live in selfishness and pride, the drier our clay becomes.

What happens when we yield to the Lord and allow him to take out our imperfections?

4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Jeremiah 18:4

When we allow God to be the potter, our clay is still soft but needs a lot of work. Stiff unyielding clay is unusable. We must remember that God is a God of second chances. Through repentance, God remakes us. God takes us right where we are. He mends our broken lives when we give him ALL the pieces. Each piece he remolds to fit us into the vessel he needs for his purpose.

Can our clay become too hard?

1 Thus saith the Lord, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests; 10 Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee, 11 And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury. Jeremiah 19:1,10-11

In Jeremiah 18:4 The potter remade his vessel and he saw that it was good. God remakes us and sees it is good. But what happens when we don’t yield our lives to him? We find out in the following chapter.

The clay pot was smashed. No one can put it back together again. When the clay is hardened and impure, it is smashed to tiny bits and pieces. Once it has hardened completely, there is no hope. The pot can no longer be remade or be whole again.

15 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words. Jeremiah 19:15

I admire people who take broken things, stuff people throw out in the trash and rebuilds it or turn them into something all together different. I’ve long had a desire to take broken old pieces of furniture and turn it into something completely new. I’ve seen some pretty radical and dramatic changes of old chest dressers being turned into a bench seats. Or take old bits of metal junk and turning them into yard art. I’ve found that the people who have a craft in that, often have an amazing testimony of how their art represents their life.

I was old junk once. So many times I was thrown in the garbage because I didn’t serve other’s sick disgusting sinful desires. Over and over again, I allowed God to pull me out of the trash bin and begin to remodel my life, but I fell away so many times. We have hope! A blessed hope and promise that God will remold our lives into a new vessel when we give him all the pieces of our lives.

God can’t use the hardened prideful selfish hearts. He can only remake a heart that has been completely broken.