Back to the Wheel

Have you ever noticed that what you set out to do and what you wind up with are often very different from each other?

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.  - Jeremiah 18:1-4

Today's reading from Jeremiah is just that kind of lesson.

The vessel the potter is making becomes damaged, so he fashions the clay into a new design.  The question the Lord then asks is "Can I not do this with you?"

Why is the idea that God will keep working the clay something to be feared?  Shouldn't we want to be shaped and molded repeatedly so that we may emerge new and more beautiful, more adaptable?

So long as the clay is moist, it is still workable, but once it is fired, it becomes fixed and any attempts to change it may break it to pieces.  So, is it not better to remain supple and changeable?

For most of us, the answer may be a resounding, "NO!"

We don't want to be molded and shaped.  We want to become rock solid, strong, useful, utilitarian, capable of being put to work carrying water, serving the thirsty and hungry, making something of ourselves.

It makes sense, doesn't it, to take that step and get off the potter's wheel, go into the fire and become the vessel we are intended to be?

It is the Martha and Mary problem, isn't it?  One sits at the teacher's feet to listen and learn, while the other is at work, getting the meal ready, setting the table, being useful.

But unlike clay, which when fired becomes unchangeable, we can take ourselves back to the wheel and remold ourselves.  We can decide to change and we can let God do that for us and with us.

It is the miracle of the will God gave us, that we can make ourselves supple again, or we can remain stubborn, committed to being solid.

I think it all comes down to timing.  There are times when we need to be the vessel and times when we need to be reshaped and redesigned into a more necessary tool.

In the end, we will become what we once were, dust.  But while we have the will to change, we should consider how amazing and miraculous that ability is, and we can take ourselves back to the wheel.

More to come...

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