(Jeremiah 18:1-4 KJV) "The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it."
"In our life journey, we reach places
where we crave transformation.
Not superficial change,
but deep, inner work that penetrates the heart.
That's when the Potter beckons us to visit his house."
~Stephen W. Smith, "Soul Shaping"~
I can only imagine what Jeremiah felt as he entered the door of the Potter's House. He probably wondered, "What in the world, the Lord could teach or show him in such an odd place." As he opens the door to enter, he sees the Potter sitting at his Wheel, notices the dirty apron with stains of clay, sets his eyes upon the moist clay laying patiently on the Wheel awaiting the Potters touch, with tools for molding within arms reach, and catches a glimpse of the bright red glow of the fire.
He smells the mustiness of the clay, the smoke from the burning wood in the fire, and maybe even a hint of odor from the sweat of the Potter diligent at his work. Jeremiah would of heard the squeak of the Potter's Wheel, the popping and crackling of the fire, the clang of the Potter's tools, and somewhere amid this array of noise he listens for a "word from the Lord." As he walks about the room his hands reach out to touch and feel the coolness of the clay, I imagine he may have even touched the Potter's hand while he created, wiped dried clay dust from the rickety chair, felt the hard packed dirt floor beneath his feet, sensed the swelling anticipation and excitement in his own heart and mind, and an overwhelming awareness of the Lord's presence.
Jeremiah can't take his eyes from the Potter's hands as he lovingly sculpts and fashions the clay. In the process the vessel is marred in the hands of the Potter, so he dampens the clay to make it moldable and pliable to form it anew.
(Isaiah 64:8 KJV) "But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."
(2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV) "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."What a beautiful picture and example of God's work in our own lives, transforming us into His own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another.
In my own life God is doing a work... molding me into His image, removing the imperfections, and at times I feel He even has me in the Refiner's Fire. I must realize that the process may be painful at times... but necessary... to make me what He wants me to be... He is the Potter, I am the Clay, the Potter is making me fit for His special purpose... Fit for the Masters Use.
Today you will find me:
Sitting on the Wheel marred.... being made anew!
Introspection is usually the most painful but most beneficial and productive work any of us can do. However, as you have beautifully articulated, it is absolutely necessary if we are to become 'a spiritual being having a human experience,' rather than 'a human having the occasional spiritual experience.' A wise man once said "Spiritual ascents are made on a ladder, not a high-speed express elevator--a ladder that requires climbing rung by rung." Our spiritual lives are a process continuously unfolding, but only by remaining conscious of our inner self can we experience a deepening and expanding of our spiritual natures. During those hard and painful times we can always trust that God is truly our ever present Refuge.
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