Cut Off

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.

When the finger bowl is finished, the potter takes a very fine, strong wire, dips it in the water, stretches it taut between his hands and deftly draws it through the clay, cutting a flat base for the bowl and separating it from the clay on the wheel.

Jeremiah 18:5-6 – Then the word of the Lord came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?"

As the Lord shapes our lives, there comes a time when, as new creatures in Christ, we need to be cut off completely from the old ways of our former life, with its habits and attitudes. This cutting-off process is called sanctification, and is the one of the functions of the Holy Spirit in our life as we are reshaped in the image of Christ.

Prayer: Remind us, Lord, that as Your people, we are in the world but not of the world. Help us to recognize and resist the forces that want to make us like the rest of the earth. Amen.