A Fine Piece of China

Jeremiah stood outside the modest house. Why am I here? 

A sigh escaped his lips. Actually being a prophet was different then he'd imagined it would be when Yahweh had first called him. Go to this place. Do this weird thing. Pronounce doom and gloom on these countries. He had really thought being a prophet was more then that. He remembered the stories of the mighty prophets and judges the elders had passed down to his generation. Would that ever be the case for his ministry?

Yahweh's voice had come to him early this morning. "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." The message came with the familiar, fiery sensation that flooded him whenever the Lord spoke to him.

So here he was. Absolutely thrilling.

The late morning breeze fluttered through the cloth covering the entrance. Using two finger to move the light fabric to the side, Jeremiah peeked into the potter's house.

The potter was working at his wheel, completely oblivious to Jeremiah spying on him from the doorway. Jeremiah could only see the front room, but the walls were lined with shelves, all filled with pottery. Bowls, plates, pitchers, cups were everywhere. A pile of thirty or so plates were stacked to the right of the potter, resting on a weathered rug.

The potter worked the lump of clay. At first he was flattening it, stretching it like a large plate. However, the lump of clay would not cooperate. The edges wobbled out like a wave, and soon became unmanageable. It was too much clay for a simple plate. So the potter started stroking the clay higher and higher. Soon a pitcher began to take shape.

Jeremiah studied the new water pitcher. It had gone from a big pile of lumpy goo, to a malformed plate, to this water pitcher, where it could really be used.

He was getting that fiery sensation again.

"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done?" Yahweh's voice was loud and clear, but absolutely quiet. A feeling. A fire within his spirit. Like He was standing there with him, even though Jeremiah knew no one else would claim to hear His voice. "Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoke, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it."

Sometimes I hate that He knows what I'm thinking...

Based on Jeremiah 18:1-10

"Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work." 2 Timothy 2:20-21

God is the Potter. We are all vessels in His house. Some of us are plates. Some of us are cups. Others are used as water pitchers. Others are used for food. There are also items made from lesser quality that are used for...dishonorable purposes. We don't have to remain as the dog food dish. We give our vessel self to God, and He has the materials to make us into a fine piece of china.

We like the idea of becoming that new creation.

It's the getting there where we have a problem.

God tries to change us. As the Potter, God has every right to change us.

"But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Romans 9:20

Are we willing vessels? Are we eager to be molded into His image? We say we are, but will we really let Him work? Being shaped, molded, and refined by fire isn't easy. It's not pretty, and it is no lazy Sunday. We tend to avoid those things like the plague. We want to hold onto our rough edges and unformed sides. "Leave me alone! I want to be this! I work just fine as a plate!"

"Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for the vessel." Proverbs 25:4

"And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ' They are my people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'" Zechariah 13:9

God has the material to make you a new vessel! He wants to make you into a new creation. Brand new china. Are we asking Him to take the dross away? Are you calling upon His name? Do you say, "Make me more like You!"?

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith   more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire   may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:6-9

The trials, the change, and the burning of our spiritual dross are all annoying and painful, yes. However, if we want to be like Him, if we want a faith full of revelation and glory, and if we want inexpressible joy in Him, then it is something we need. No one can force you, but if you want to reach your full potential, and to be used by Him, then be a willing vessel. Let Him mold you into something honorable.

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