Control

The Good News is that things can change.

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. Then the word of the LORD came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. - Jeremiah 18:1-11

Today's reading from the Book of Jeremiah has ominous overtones.

It sounds like God is threatening us with punishment if we don't behave.  But it is really a positive and uplifting statement God is making in support of our free will.

Yes, it is putting the responsibility for our fate squarely on our shoulders, and I think that is a good thing.  Isn't it better to hold the reigns in our lives than to leave our fate in the hands of someone else?

We are not slaves to God or man.  We are in control.

God is showing Jeremiah that God can change the verdict from death to life, based not on a whim, but on the actions of the people.  We, the clay in God's hands, have a say!

That's amazing, if you think about it.  

The creator of all is willing to listen to us.  And all we have to do is talk to Him.

Not everyone likes this idea.  Some don't want God to have any power over us, while others don't want God to be lenient on the sinner, or at least on the sinner who does something heinous.

But we only have control over our relationship with God, not the relationship others have and that's a good thing.  Who would want someone else to be able to influence God against us?

So, while the story is about saving an entire people, it really boils down to a much more personal relationship each of us has with our creator.  We can change the course of our lives and have a say in our outcome.

So, which is it?  Do we want to be in control?  And if we do, how will we take it?

God is telling us that we need to start with Him.

More to come...