Read: Jeremiah 18:1-11
Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words. (v. 2)
Clay is a complex medium. One careless movement of the potter’s hand renders the vessel under formation unsightly or worthless. Clay is also very forgiving. Of course if the vessel becomes deformed, it can simply be removed from the wheel, watered and kneaded. It is ready to be remade. Unless, of course, it is allowed to harden in place. God compared his people to a lump of clay and himself the potter. For centuries, God’s people resisted their potter’s hands. Their only hope was for him to pick them up, break them down, and reshape them into a vessel worthy of bearing his love.
We too insist on shaping ourselves. We take pride in designing our identities and dictating the course of our lives. From our perspective, we look well-formed. From God’s perspective we are incomplete. The more set we are in our ways, the more painful God’s work. For God to have his way, he must pick us up, break us down, and reshape us.
The true sign of a devoted potter is his refusal to let an unformed vessel harden in place. The true sign of God’s devotion to us is that he never stops working on us. Paul wrote, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10 NIV). Our Lord is the master artist. If we let him, he will make us his masterpiece. —Ben Van Arragon
As you pray, commit your life to the potter’s hands.
About the Author
Ben Van Arragon is the Minister of Worship and Leadership at Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.
