"Go down to the potter's house and there I will give you my message." - Jeremiah 18:2

We had a potter come in to grief support group a couple weeks ago and it was an amazing experience.  They had the potter making a pot on stage as the narrator went through the process and related it to our relationship with God. 

When Jeremiah went down to the potter's house God did not speak but while watching the potter work Jeremiah was shown how God is like the potter.

When a potter would get the clay in ancient times they would go out to the clay pits and climb in and go to the bottom, because that is where the best clay was.  He would climb down and pull the clay out of the pit, just as God pulls us out of the pit. 

Then before puting the clay on the wheel the potter would wedge the clay.  Watching this process was eye opening.  The clay is folded and pressed to get out the air pockets and lumps.  This was a tough process.  The potter was puting all her strength into pressing out the lumps and air pockets.   God works us, and it can hurt.  There will be pressure, but it is in the beginning of the process that God works in us to make us strong in Him.

Once the clay is put on the wheel it is centered.  Another amazing thing to watch.  As the potter centered the clay it fought her.  She had to keep pressing it and moving it on the wheel until it was in the center of the wheel.  When it was not in the center the clay fought her it wobbled and shook until it was in just the right place on the wheel to be molded and shaped.  I was reminded that I must be centered in Christ before I can be shaped.

The clay is then pierced to create a heart.  It starts with a small heart, but through work it gets bigger, just as God is growing my heart.  I must be pirced to grow my heart.  I must be opened up to God to become an open vessel and be used by Him.

The potter builds up the walls.  This is amazing to watch.  She puts her hands in the heart and works the walls.  She had to be gentle to work the walls up so that they would not collapse.  Just as the potter builds the walls up through work and edification, I am also built up and my heart is made bigger and I become a useful vessel in God's Hands as he continues to work out the flaws.

Finally the pot is fired in the kiln.  Before the pot is fired it is weak and can collapse.  In the fire it is purified and becomes solid rock.  In life we are put through the fire and purified to become strong in Christ. 

I could never tire of watching the potter work.  If you ever get a chance to watch one work, I challenge you to do it.  It is an amazing process.  Hats off to all potters.  The message God has given us through your art is clear.  Thank you.

Though I can understand your analogy, and see how the demostration was set up for a particular effect, in real life, a potter would in fact and deed STARVE to death throwing a piece in the way you describe. Most potters who make a living doing not have time to wedge the clay, a process that rarely gets used, as we buy our clay pre-pugged and de-aired...in short, clay that we can cut and run with.

Centering...if a potter is struggling with this aspect of the process, they are not going to make it as a potter, as there are some basic tricks that make it a very easy thing to accomplish, and the clay should not be fighting you.

I could go on, but you get the idea...what you saw, was not the way real work in a studio happens, and as someone who was a potter for 20 years, felt compelled to set the record straight.

Dream Dragon

Steph, Thanks for sharing the analogy of the potter. Of course it wasn't done as a demonstration of studio work but rather as a metaphor of spiritual growth.

I saw this same thing at a church service a while back. It was very fascinating and left an impression on me, as well!

Dropping in to say Hi and Happy St. Paddy's day.. Hope you aren't caught without green on.. I am having my surgery tomorrow and my hubbie said I needed to paint a shamrock on my thigh so they wouldn't pinch me.. LOL I bet the doctor would get a kick out of that one.. Have a good one my friend.. Here are a couple of blinkies I made to give all my friends..

Wednesday, March 16th 2005 @ 8:41 PM

Blessings my friend just popping in to say Hi and that my recovery is going well.. I miss all my friends at Bravenet and will be back in full force soon.. Thanks for all the prayers~!

Thursday, March 24th 2005 @ 1:20 AM

[Pray] is what you eat and to say your [Prayers] is to make a [hail marry] [hail storm] [number one] or a [our father] [they staff] [number two] what is a Word but the name of a person, place or thing and no matter how you brake it up water is water dust is dust so the dust we walk on and the we wash with need only God to make Flesh there is no more that is it [SOUL] the inside underneath or unseen portion of. [SPIRIT] water that carries any other properties. Now that you see what they did to the ward and the word is God and God is this ward [Bacterium] the only thing that can take water and dust and make Flesh just a small [Bacteria] that multiplies 10 times over at 98.6 and when it fall to the water and everything was just right it Fermented and from that Ferment did God put air and in that air so did the mist of Gods spirit rise and come back to the dust and bring Life to everything for his small movement in the dust did make a void and fill it with love and Spirit.posted by Michael o:)

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