Marred In His Hands

The work of a potter moulding the clay at his wheel is well understood as a Biblical analogy of the relationship between God and us, His people, because the basics of the potter's craft have changed very little over the centuries.

Suddenly, the potter's wheel stops, and he picks out a small piece of grit from the goblet. He moistens his hands, starts the wheel spinning again, and smoothes out the place where the imperfection was. Then he finds another place where the clay is resisting him, and he stops to fix that too. Then the whirling comes to an end as a deep ragged gouge scars the side of his intended masterpiece. It is ruined beyond repair. Sadly, he crushes the clay down and begins re-shaping it into a fingerbowl.

Jeremiah 18:4 – 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.

Despite God's best intentions to shape us into truly beautiful people, His purposes are brought to nothing again and again because of our resistance to His will. Regardless of His best efforts, human beings so often end up a disaster, because they will not comply with His will or co-operate with His commandments. Imagine God's sadness as we, the clay in His gentle, tender, gracious hands, thwart His purposes with our stubbornness. What could have been a gorgeous goblet became a common fingerbowl, certainly second best. The question we have to answer is, "Am I going to be a piece of fine china or a crude mug?"

Prayer: Lord, I want Your best for me. "Thou art the Potter, I am the clay." Shape me according to Your wise, loving and perfect plan. Amen.

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