“The bowl lay overturned on the floor, a rough crack running down one side.” As I looked at the disaster on the floor I began to reminisce of my heritage. That bowl was an antique porcelain bowl passed down from generation to generation. Trying to pick up the pieces of the now cracked bowl tears began to stream down my face. Piece by piece I picked up the remaining of this precious heirloom and my mind began to wonder back in time to every holiday season. We had a large family and I remember we would get together. We would have a huge feast and then and all the elders of the family would tell the younger ones stories of our family history. My dad used to tell the story of our family men being enlisted soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War Times. I would listen to the War stories over and over again as if I lived in the era. I never met my great grandfather he died before I was born. After awhile I could repeat the story word for word and I could reenact every emotional scene of the war. I wish I could have met my ancestors just to hear them tell their own stories.
The pieces of my history were now in my hand. I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I stopped cleaning up the mess, and I started reenacting the Civil War. I wanted my great grandfather to be so proud of me as I was of him. The bowl was given to my great grandfather as a gift for saving a General. My great grandfather risked his life to save a man who could care less about colored men. My family was taught to serve the Lord and do everything in excellence and God would take care of everything else. My great grandfather killed a man who had the General cornered and for that my great grandfather received a medal of honor and the General's wife gave my great grandfather the porcelain bowl which was one of her prized possessions. The story goes that this was a set of bowls used in the Sunday brunches with big wigs of the time. Long did I endeavour with unfeigned and unwearied Zeal, to preserve from breaking, that fine and noble porcelain bowl: for I knew that being once broken, the separate Parts could not retain even their Share of the Strength or Value that existed in the Whole, and that a perfect Re-Union of those Parts could scarce even be hoped for.
In Isaiah 64:8 Isaiah presents God as the Potter who naturally cares about that which He has created. He does not want to discard his creation. “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” God is the “Father of our spirits” (Hebrews 12:9) and has created us to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). Paul prayed that God would complete the work He had begun in them Philippians 1:6. God is definitely working to make us what He desires us to be but….
We Can Resist God’s Work Those who resist God’s work in their lives never become what He designed for them to be. We are incapable of producing our own happiness or fulfillment. God could not mold and shape them as He desired because of their rebellion. In Isaiah 29:16, God rebuked Israel because they arrogantly defied Him and acted as though He had not created them. They acted as though they were in control of their own lives. Isaiah told them, “Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me?” Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding?” It is unthinkable that the “clay” should have such an attitude toward the Potter. But we do exactly that. The True Potter knows that it is the clay that must change its shape.
God Can Remake Us
“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!” (Jeremiah 18:3-6). Israel had constantly resisted God’s work in them. But He was not willing to throw them away. Though they were marred, and could not be what they once could have been, God could remake the vessel into another vessel, that would glorify Him.
We are hindered by our inability to see the end of the process. God has the power to truly change lives through the power of the Gospel (Romans 1:16). Paul wanted the Philippians to know that God was continually in the process of shaping and molding his life when he said, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14). Paul continued, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:19-20). Whatever happened to him, Paul knew God could make it work for spiritual good. He later encouraged them to acquire this mindset, as the mind of Christ. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus humbly trusted the Father and was obedient to His will
Conclusion
There is another aspect about the clay and the potter’s wheel that we need to think about. Every revolution of the potter’s wheel brings the clay closer to what its end will look like. It is that way with our lives. As we are being turned on the Potter’s wheel, we are being molded and shaped, regardless of how long we’ve been turning. There’s a sacred hymn that we sing from time to time entitled, “Have Thine Own Way Lord”, which beautifully illustrates how we (the clay) should be pliable in the Potter’s hands. The song reads, “Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me After Thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.” The last verse reads, “Hold o’er my being Absolute sway! Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, Living in me.” Dear reader, as Isaiah pleaded with the people of his day (Isaiah 64:8), we are pleading with you today to allow God to be the Potter of your life, continually shaping and molding you, as you willingly render obedience to His will (Romans 10:17; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:1-11; Gal. 3:26-27; John 8:31; Revelation 2:10).
The pieces of my history were now in my hand. I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I stopped cleaning up the mess, and I started reenacting the Civil War. I wanted my great grandfather to be so proud of me as I was of him. The bowl was given to my great grandfather as a gift for saving a General. My great grandfather risked his life to save a man who could care less about colored men. My family was taught to serve the Lord and do everything in excellence and God would take care of everything else. My great grandfather killed a man who had the General cornered and for that my great grandfather received a medal of honor and the General's wife gave my great grandfather the porcelain bowl which was one of her prized possessions. The story goes that this was a set of bowls used in the Sunday brunches with big wigs of the time. Long did I endeavour with unfeigned and unwearied Zeal, to preserve from breaking, that fine and noble porcelain bowl: for I knew that being once broken, the separate Parts could not retain even their Share of the Strength or Value that existed in the Whole, and that a perfect Re-Union of those Parts could scarce even be hoped for.
It was stated that President Washington used Chinese porcelain as precious gifts to his friends and guests. As Washington’s reputation in then North America during the formative age of the United States, his appreciation for Chinese porcelain ware produced a great influence on other people since a stream of visitors to the headquarters had been served with the ware at the Commander in Chief's table. So apparently this was custom to give porcelain or Chinaware as gifts according to the history of our Presidents. My great grandfather knew the history of the exchanging of gifts and truly valued the concept.
My father took it upon himself to share the history with the family to keep the importance of the war as well as my great grandfathers legacy. It was a whole set and certain elder family members were entrusted with parts of the set. My father was entrusted with the porcelain bowl of the set. For my 25th birthday my dad entrusted this bowl to me because I was very interested in the history of the family and the heirloom, I've had it now for 10 years until today. This even reminds of God being the potter of our life.
In Isaiah 64:8 Isaiah presents God as the Potter who naturally cares about that which He has created. He does not want to discard his creation. “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” God is the “Father of our spirits” (Hebrews 12:9) and has created us to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). Paul prayed that God would complete the work He had begun in them Philippians 1:6. God is definitely working to make us what He desires us to be but….
We Can Resist God’s Work Those who resist God’s work in their lives never become what He designed for them to be. We are incapable of producing our own happiness or fulfillment. God could not mold and shape them as He desired because of their rebellion. In Isaiah 29:16, God rebuked Israel because they arrogantly defied Him and acted as though He had not created them. They acted as though they were in control of their own lives. Isaiah told them, “Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me?” Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding?” It is unthinkable that the “clay” should have such an attitude toward the Potter. But we do exactly that. The True Potter knows that it is the clay that must change its shape.
God Can Remake Us
“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!” (Jeremiah 18:3-6). Israel had constantly resisted God’s work in them. But He was not willing to throw them away. Though they were marred, and could not be what they once could have been, God could remake the vessel into another vessel, that would glorify Him.
We are hindered by our inability to see the end of the process. God has the power to truly change lives through the power of the Gospel (Romans 1:16). Paul wanted the Philippians to know that God was continually in the process of shaping and molding his life when he said, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14). Paul continued, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:19-20). Whatever happened to him, Paul knew God could make it work for spiritual good. He later encouraged them to acquire this mindset, as the mind of Christ. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus humbly trusted the Father and was obedient to His will
Conclusion
There is another aspect about the clay and the potter’s wheel that we need to think about. Every revolution of the potter’s wheel brings the clay closer to what its end will look like. It is that way with our lives. As we are being turned on the Potter’s wheel, we are being molded and shaped, regardless of how long we’ve been turning. There’s a sacred hymn that we sing from time to time entitled, “Have Thine Own Way Lord”, which beautifully illustrates how we (the clay) should be pliable in the Potter’s hands. The song reads, “Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me After Thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.” The last verse reads, “Hold o’er my being Absolute sway! Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, Living in me.” Dear reader, as Isaiah pleaded with the people of his day (Isaiah 64:8), we are pleading with you today to allow God to be the Potter of your life, continually shaping and molding you, as you willingly render obedience to His will (Romans 10:17; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:1-11; Gal. 3:26-27; John 8:31; Revelation 2:10).
Even though we go through changes in our lives and we might be broken into pieces, God can put us back together. Acknowledge your history, embrace your present, and look forward to your future. The reflections of me are in the designs and history of the family and the heirloom, and my future moves forward because I value the gift and the history of my family. Although the bowl is broken I still live to tell the story of my ancestors, my God, and reenact the War as if I lived back then.
So remember to reflect
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