The Potter and the Clay

I was reading about the Potter and they Clay this morning in Jeremiah 18 and I came across the blog, and I wanted to share it with you. For full and fair disclosure this is not coming from me but from a guy names Rob, you can find his website at robsrandomramblings.com. I got permission from him to share this with you.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel.

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel."

(Jeremiah 18:1-6, NIV)

This one really hits close to home today. Just as Jeremiah watched the potter take that pot that wasn't coming out right and crush it to make something new, with the news yesterday, I kind of feel like that pot. When life throws you curveballs like the ones I've gotten over the last month, it's easy to blame God for your problems and wallow in self-pity. For the most part, I'm doing OK with that, but believe me, I have my moments. While reading this passage this morning it reminded me of this post I saw 2 months ago, before this all started, at "Stuff Christians Like" by Jon Acuff. Reading it again today, though...well, it's got a whole different meaning to me now. Let me share some of it with you:

Here is the question I felt like God asked me:

"Do I have the right to crack the vessel if breaking it is the fastest way to share with the world what I have poured into it?"

The truth is, I don't have a fancy, easy answer to the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" All I have is my own question:

Does God have the right to crack the vessel if breaking it is the fastest way to share what He poured into us?

The question is not "Does He love us?" My life circumstances do not determine that. He is love. Regardless of what happens to me in this life, that is who He is and who He will always be.

The question is not "Do we have to fake smile through pain?" I don't think so. I've had friends that have buried their children and seen moms fall to cancer 5 weeks after being diagnosed. There are many, many things in this world that suck and will continue to do so. I would never tell friends who experienced tragedies to turn a frown upside down or whitewash the year my whole life fell apart with instant rainbows and fluffy clouds.

The question is not "If God is supposed to work all things out for the good, why is this situation so painful?" It's His definition of good, not mine, that I must live with. Thankfully, mercifully, beautifully, He doesn't promise to work things out according to my understanding of "good." His good will always exceed mine because He can define "good" across the solar system and I can only define it with what I see with my own eyes.

The question is not, "Can I trust a God that allows bad things to happen to good people?" Although that's tempting to get stuck on. Sometimes when we say, "How can I serve a God that would allow bad things to happen," we miss what we might be really saying. I think what we mean is, "I could only serve a God that is good or loving according to my own personal definition of what those words mean." But that's kind of terrifying to me. I don't want to worship a God who's power is limited to my ability to understand it or who's goodness is limited to my ability to define it. I get "good" and "bad" wrong all the time.

I am not equipped to tell God how He should be or understand if something He's doing is good or bad. And the biggest truth, the one that's easiest to miss, is that in any given situation, God is working out of love. He's ridiculous that way. On the surface it might feel like the worst pain we've ever known, the darkest skies that could ever cover our tiny planet, but all the while, God is calling us, urging us, drawing us to His love. It makes no sense, but it's true.

Just like that potter, God, if we truly believe, does love us and wants what's best for us, even if we don't see that path with our earthly eyes. If God's way of advancing His kingdom lies in me walking through this path of disease and transplant, then let's get it on! Sure, it's not fun...it's frankly a little scary...not to mention the time and cost of all these procedures. (soooo thankful to have health insurance!!) But, like Jon said, if "cracking" me physically is the quickest way for me to share His love, acceptance, and forgiveness, then I'm ready to be broken today.

Here's hoping we can trust the hands and plans of the Almighty Potter today.