Jeremiah 18:3-6
No pleasant place,
this potter's house,
no comfort to urge you to stay.
Just mud, dust,
an ancient wheel,
and broken pieces of clay.
Here you see
no frivolous objects,
no vessels fashioned for beauty.
No fragile urns
with graceful lines,
just jugs for mundane duty.
Here no gilding
of precious metals,
nor decorative art to adorn.
The Potter's eye
seeks quality and strength,
and purity of form.
He shapes and molds
the lifeless clay,
pressing here and lifting there,
constantly replacing
the vital moisture
absorbed by the drying air.
The wheel is relentless,
its rhythm unending;
the Potter's Hands never tire.
With firmness and patience,
he coaxes the clay
to conform to His Heart's desire.
The clay spirals upward
under gentle pressure,
as the Potter treads His wheel.
He is pleased with the way
the vessel responds,
as though alive with vigor and zeal.
But all is not well,
for the Potter detects
a flaw in the former perfection.
His fingers sense
an inconsistency,
almost too small for detection.
But the Potter knows
that uncorrected,
in spite of all His skill,
the vessel won't survive
the torturous test
it must face in the fiery kiln.
And so He must,
with sorrowful heart,
stop the wheel and make amends.
A weakness discovered
must be removed
before the wheel again spins.
This fault cannot,
by pressure or moisture,
be miraculously wafted away.
Its impact is such
that the finished vessel
could serve only as decorative display.
But the Potter has no use
for frivolous art.
Cares not for fashion nor frill.
He fashions vessels
for faithful service
whose beauty is valid and real.
He contemplates
the marred piece of clay,
and how to accomplish its revision,
then deftly removes
the offending flaw
with skilled, surgical precision.
And with His Hand
He flattens the clay
against the wheel once more.
No easy decision,
for the lifeless clay
had just begun to soar
And now the wheel
resumes its spinning;
the process begins anew.
The clay once more
takes on form
and its walls rise strong and true.
Are we not clay
in the Potter's Hands?
Were we not formed from dust?
And when our vessel
is marred from sin,
it's the Potter whom we must trust.
He sees the flaws
in our character
that threaten our Christian walk,
from pride
and fatal blasphemy,
to gossip and idle talk.
And, like the clay,
some flaws are minor;
they don't amount to much.
These are corrected
by the gentle pressure
of the Holy Spirit's Touch.
But, like the clay,
oft times we require
discipline that we don't understand.
We're flattened once more
on the wheel of life
by the force of the Potter's Hand.
And, like the clay,
when again we rise
and begin to take on new form,
we find we're stronger
and better suited
for our duty amidst life's storms.
So, fret not, friends,
when life goes awry
and you feel it's out of control.
It's only the Hand
of the Master Potter,
refining the original mold.
Disappointment, betrayal,
delusion and loss
always bring much pain.
But these are always
"blessings" disguised
and also bring much gain.
For these are events
that open our eyes
to the vanity of human advice.
And these are the hurts
that open our hearts
to the healing love of Christ.
So never fear
the Master's Hand
nor rail against its touch.
For like the fervent prayer
of a righteous man,
it always availeth much.
And look beyond
your circumstances;
keep their end in sight.
One day soon
that long dark tunnel
will evolve into glorious light.
In retrospect,
be grateful for the trials
that develop a faith that's real.
For, like the clay,
our worth is determined
by our time on the Potters wheel.
by Sylvia Negron
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