(Jeremiah 18:1-4)
The Prophet went to see the potter, who was busy working on his wheel. He was making a flower pot from a lump of clay.
But the lump wasn’t lumping, so to speak. The lump refused to become a flower vase.
The potter sighed. He looked at the lump for a few seconds…
“You don’t want to become a flower vase, yeah? Fine! I’mma turn you into a beautiful tea pot!
And he went ahead to do just that.
There are some takeaways from this story…
- The potter was NOT angry with the lump of clay. He did not burst out in a fit of anger: “What is wrong with you? Why are you stubborn? It is your destiny to be a flower vase! If you don’t become a flower vase, you will go to HELL!!!”
No: the potter simply changed the trajectory without any drama. When you drive, using the google map on your phone, you follow the instructions. “In 300 meters, turn left”, it says. You turn left. “In 500 meters, turn right”. You turn right. You follow the instructions until you reach your destination. But imagine you decide NOT to obey the instructions of the google map? Imagine you turn RIGHT when it says to turn LEFT? What happens? The google map won’t say, “Are you ok? I said LEFT, you turned RIGHT! You must be very stupid! Nonsense!” No: the google map will simply re-calibrate and find another way to lead you to your destination. IT SHOWS NO EMOTION.
- The potter was NOT confused. He already had a Plan B. He didn’t waste time deciding what to do next, he didn’t try forcing the lump of clay to become a flower vase. When he realized he wasn’t making much progress with the flower vase, he just moved on to Plan B: the Tea Pot. He had the machinery (the wheel) and the expertise (the skill) to turn from the flower vase to a tea pot. It was not a big deal for him.
- The lump of clay was not deemed useless BY THE POTTER because it couldn’t become a flower vase. It didn’t lose its “destiny”, so to speak. Inasmuch as it couldn’t become a flower vase, the potter knew it could become something else equally important. Ironically, the lump could be called a failure or a bad lump, it didn’t define it. The opinion of the potter was what mattered most.
- The clay was marred in the hands of the potter, so the potter formed it into something else AS IT SEEMED BEST TO HIM. At the end of the day, it is all about the POTTER, not the CLAY.
He knows BEST. His will for the clay was for it to be the best version of itself, it wasn’t for it to be a flower vase. Whether it became a flower case, tea pot or anything else is immaterial. What matters is its AVAILABILITY for the potter’s use.
God is the Potter. You are the Clay.
He will make you into what He wants you to be: don’t beat yourself up because you want to be an Evangelist, but you are not winning people to Jesus as much as you would have loved.
Don’t beat yourself up because you desperately want to be a Pastor, but you never get opportunities to preach. Let the potter make you into what He wants you to be: your AVAILABILITY is what matters!
Shalom,
Haruna Daniels