Here is a comment Lorenzo made on my previous post:
“Sometimes clay just isn't ready to be used. The best-thrown pots are made out of clay that has been recycled a few times. New clay, although it is pure and lump free, just doesn't work so well as clay that has been through the water, kneaded, used, and returned to the water for recycling; everything in the right time. People who have been 'through the mill' very often have a deeper understanding of life than people who have sailed through life without problems and difficulties.”
It just seemed to me too good not to make it a post of it’s own because I found it to be so very encouraging. She, a potter herself, says that when clay is “disobedient” or crunchy or hard to work with, the potter just throws it back in the water to soak a while and then continues to work with it until it is just right for use. In combination with her comments above, it seems to me to speak volumes of the incredible grace and mercy of my Heavenly Father who keeps throwing me back into the water bin instead of giving up on me. How very grateful I was to be reminded that it is the will of the potter and not the will of the clay that really matters – that the potter is patient and knows how to work with the clay to even make it the right kind of clay to work with.
So, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hoping that my “clay” self is beginning to be malleable, with “humble teachability” as my friend Andrew speaks of and am glad to be reassured that the good work He has begun in me is not something that He will ever stop until the day that Jesus calls me home (Phil 1:6). So, if you keep seeing me in the water bucket, the don’t be surprised – I’m just “softening up” some more so that I can more easily yield to the potter’s hands.
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8 comments:
I like that way of thinking!
Very true, Susan. We all need more of that, or at least I'll speak for myself. Maybe this is part of the process of sanctification for all of us as God's children in Jesus.
Thanks Martin! I appreciate that!
Ted - I don't think I'd really thought all the way through to calling it part of sanctification, so thanks for drawing that conclusion. I was thinking more about how stubborn and rebellious and downright sinful I am. It reminds me of a line in a Rich Mullins song, "I'd rather fight You for something I don't really want, than take what You give that I need. I beat my head against so many walls, I'm falling down, I'm falling on my knees."
Hello aka!
Sorry I haven't been around, been busy reading Harry Potter and playing sudoku!
Just to throw a hammer in the works so to speak, sometimes a potter will set out to make a certain type of pot, say a mug, but the clay has different ideas, and it starts splegging out and turns into a bowl!
All I know is that I am constantly being bunged back with the grotty bits soaking down. Like you I can be a bolshy and awkward sod and I have a big mouth that doesn't seems to speak things that it should.
I like the bit from the letter of James that talks of the tonge and an uruly member! Cannot be tamed. Praises God one moment and slanders your neighbour the next! Also one of my favourites is in one of the letters of Paul, can't remember which one at the moment, when Paul carries on about doing the things he doesn't want to do and not doing the things he should be doing. Well, if a giant of a man like Paul gets it wrong from time to time, maybe, just maybe there is hope for us!
I do hope so as it's certain I can do nothing for myself! Isn't there a bit about hope too?
Yes, Susan, I really like that song by Rich Mullins. I referred to it recently on a blog, related to this same (general) subject. That song says something we need to always remember, that's for sure.
Love your thoughts, and how encouraging to be reminded that He will continue to pursue me, even when I'm being stubborn and un-malleable!
Just come over from Martin's blog.
Do American's poke fun at the president like we Brits poke fun at our Royals?
Susan, I just tagged you!
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