It was an odd place to find a piece of broken pottery, perched on a large rock on the edge of an open field. Yet, there it sat.
It caught my eye as I entered the path and I had to stop to investigate.
The edges were sharp, rough to the touch. But the sides were smooth, polished, reflecting the morning light.
Years ago, I learned, during a ceramics class, that broken pottery has value. It can be ground into a fine powder and then mixed into the clay. The mixture adds strength and provides character to future creations.
Brokenness turned into beauty on the potter’s wheel.
I held the piece, tracing the jagged edges with my fingers, feeling its weight as it rested in the palm of my hand. And I began to wonder about my brokenness. Those rough weighty parts of my personality that inflict pain and cause me to hold more tightly to my plans, my way. Perhaps I need my shattered parts pulverized and yielded to the Creator’s hands.
There is a verse in the Bible that speaks of the Potter’s powerful effect on the clay,
3 I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar that he was forming didn’t turn out as he wished, so he kneaded it into a lump and started again.
Jeremiah 18: 1-5 (Living Bible – TLB)
Did you catch it, “He kneaded it into a lump and started over again?”
We are all a work of God. Kneaded and shaped into the perfect vessels for His work. Sometimes He starts over, shaping us through our pain and disappointments. Other times, He takes our brokenness and mixes it with His reshaping and through the process makes us stronger.
I will admit this process is not fun. Being reshaped remade is hard work. But through it all we can be confident that the Potter’s only desire is to refine us, helping us to reflect His heart.
This intimate process of molding and shaping, transforms us from lumps of clay to beautiful vessels fashioned by our Father’s love.
Blessings His BeLOVED,
REFLECT:
Take a few minutes to read more of the Jeremiah passage and consider the questions below.
Jeremiah 18: 1-5 (Living Bible – TLB)
1Here is another message to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2 Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made, and I will talk to you there. 3 I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar that he was forming didn’t turn out as he wished, so he kneaded it into a lump and started again.
5 Then the Lord said: 6 O Israel, can’t I do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
For additional reading – Jeremiah 18 TLB – Here is another message to Jeremiah – Bible Gateway
CONSIDER:
Take a few minutes to consider the following.
- Do you ever feel like a broken vessel? Does the truth that God is our Potter, constantly working in our lives, help you in your brokenness?
- Do you believe that just as the clay is shaped and molded by the potter, God is transforming you? How is He changing you today?
ENJOY:
BeLoved 