Lessons from Pottery

UV 845/10,000 Upside Down You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pot say of the potter, “ He knows nothing”? Isaiah 29 v 16 Today, we live in an upside down world where man is turning round to God and saying, “ You don’t exist.” Men are turning to each other and saying, “ God did not make us. We evolved on our own.” The pot is telling the potter, “ I know more than you.” It is presumptuous for the pot to try to form the potter according to its own requirement or imagination. The pots need to understand that they are not the cause for the potter’s existence, that the potter existed long before they came into existence and would continue to exist long after. If pots were given the intelligence, emotions and ability to speak that mankind is given, they would doubtless be appreciative of the Potter and wonder at His knowledge and skill that He could from lumps of dust and mud form us and not only form us but He informs us of our purpose and destiny and transforms us. He not only forms us but fills us with His knowledge, wisdom and His spirit. He is the One who gives us all the content of our lives. When we acknowledge God as the potter, then we become right side up. We are recognizing the reality that our destiny and purpose fulfilment is dependent on the Potter. It is arrogance born of ignorance that leads the pots to declare that they formed themselves. We ask for proof that God has created and formed us as if pots need proof that they were shaped on the potter’s wheel. On top of it, some of the pots declare themselves to be gods- as if they are the ones who formed the rest and decide how these pots are to be used. They are like upside down pots that cannot be put to use for the purpose they are meant- to glorify God in our lives. A person who does not understand and accept who God is, is like an upside down pot that cannot contain any wisdom or knowledge or understanding. A pot is formed only once and if it is broken it cannot ordinarily be put back together. But, the Lord can break us and form us again. It is said that a clay pot carrying honey is worth more than a gold pot carrying poison. When we remember, claim and proclaim the promises of the Lord, we are virtually clay pots carrying honey. When we become bitter, discontented, rebellious, unfaithful, ungrateful and untrustworthy we become ugly pots. When we do not deal with our inner weaknesses, we become leaking pots. When I went to a conference to South Korea, an artist who specialised in making beautiful pots from rice pearls, presented the delegates with his precious handiwork. He glorified God by using his gift and talent in making such objets d’art. Similarly, we need to craft some precious pot with our God-given talent that will be treasured by the Lord in the course of our lifetime. The pots need to accept that their shelf life depends on the potter. Sometimes, the Lord in order to harden the pots for greater endurance allow the pots to dry not just in the sun but to be burnt in the furnace. In the Lord’s hands, we should always remain clay that is ready to be moulded to any shape He wants. Prateep V Philip