“The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, ‘Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My
words to you.’ Then I went down to
the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of
clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another
vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.
Then the word
of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you
as this potter does?’
declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand,
so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.”
Jeremiah 18:1-6
I remember when I was working a special woodcraft project, back when I was working with my pyrography (wood-burning) art and everything was looking great...until I began the shading portion of this wood burning art. The shade was coming out all wrong, hoping it would look more as it did in my previous project, but different type of wood reacts differently and the damage was done. I could have trashed that piece and started over. Why? The wood is still good! I can still use it! After a great effort with my palm sander, I managed to erase the work and start anew, differently. After all, I want this to look perfect and now I know what not to do.
The fact of the matter was that I couldn't quite remove all of what was done to it. There were still remnants now permanently part of the wood. It would be part of my reworked art. Maybe not so much noticeable to those who will see the completed work, but I will see it. Those imperfections will remain part of the completed work.
You see, in our lives, we make mistakes that are permanently part of us. You can't say, "that's past and forgotten." It stays with us. It becomes a permanent part of us. Now, God could toss us aside and start over, but why?? Aren't we able to be reworked? So, He guides us, cleanses us from what has stained our lives (through repentance of the heart). We may look more presentable to those that we may tend to hide those imperfections from, but they are still there...part of who and what we are now. You can take those flaws and turn them into your strengths or, simply say, "it's in the past, so what," and fall into those same traps again.
What should the Woodcrafter do then? Toss you aside, since you don't seek the potential of what's still inside of you? Or should you show Him that you still have something to work with? Something that can be turned into a beautiful piece of divine art...?
Beautifully said.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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