In the days when earthen vessels were used for carrying water (Mark 14:13) it was possible for a servant to be sent to draw water from a well only to return empty handed because the container had been cracked or broken by careless handling, by the milling crowds or by the unexpected actions of a stubborn donkey or an obstinate mule. It could mean a long walk back again with another vessel, or if the hour was late a possible shortage of water until the next day. Maybe we think this is irrelevant to life today with our piped water to nearly every house, but consider the spiritual lesson involved. We are all servants of God, and we come to the Memorial meeting not only to drink deeply of the water of life, but also to fill our vessels to the brim so that we may have sufficient for the week which lies ahead.
How often do members of an ecclesia return home empty handed because of unkind words, unfeeling or unthinking actions, idle gossip or the spreading of false or exaggerated tales of wrongdoing? It will be at least three days before the next study class, and if something prevents attendance perhaps a week will have gone by before further sustenance is obtained. No doubt the answer will be that we all have Bibles and therefore we are capable of sustaining ourselves at home, or perhaps we should just cope better; that may be true, but why should any brother or sister be denied the spiritual benefits of ecclesial worship because others are failing to consider the effect of their words and actions? (I Peter 2:1, 9-11; II Peter 3:11; Romans 14:4, 10 & 13.)
II Corinthians 4:7: We have this treasure in earthen vessels … What a tremendous contrast: we the fragile vase of clay, and the unsurprising greatness of the power of Almighty God. We are all made of the same brittle clay, so easily broken, so easily shattered, so soon returned to the dust from which we were taken; and yet how often we speak and act as though we and those around us are made of an indestructible material.
In Jeremiah Chapter 18 we read of his visit to the Potter, and in our minds we can imagine the scene: we see the Potter sitting at his frame, turning the wheel with his foot. Nearby is a heap of prepared clay, mixed with water to the right consistency and impurities removed. We watch as he takes a quantity of clay and forms it into a cone shape on the wheel, and then by placing his thumb into the top of the cone and revolving the wheel with his foot he begins the task of shaping the desired vessel. We observe that it is formed with only light pressure from his fingers, and that he is intent on achieving the correct shape.
When complete the vessel is allowed to dry, and later it will be returned to the wheel to have the excess clay cutoff. Pores in the surface will be filled in with a creamy textured clay, often with a mineral colour added. The surface is then rubbed with a smooth stone to produce an even finish. Finally it will be placed in a kiln and fired by heating it to 700°-1050°C., The most difficult part of a potter’s work and a skill which was usually only passed on from father to son. We watch as the Potter selects another lump of clay, and commences work — but suddenly when to our inexperienced eye the vessel seems almost complete, the Potter decides that the clay is not responding to the touch of his fingers, and reduces it back to a shapeless mass and then starts again. Thus the Potter demonstrates his complete control over the clay: to form it into a predetermined shape, to re-form it, or to discard it completely.
First a selective process (Acts 15:14) followed by a period of preparation (Psalm 119:9-11) blending with water, observing the texture, removing impurities. The water of the Word has to deeply penetrate both our mental and emotional capacities, so that our complete character is gradually changed into a reflection of a character far exceeding the one we would naturally develop. The Potter achieves his finest work with the lightest pressure; when the clay is the correct consistency it can be shaped into whatever form the potter desires. As we mature in the Truth, the shape of our characters should gradually emerge so that it becomes evident that we have been shaped by the fingers of the Master Potter.
We need only survey the range of characters in Hebrews 11 to appreciate that the saints in the kingdom will not only come from all walks of life, but will also have differed greatly in their understanding of the Word, depending on their capabilities and the environment in which they lived and worked. We need to appreciate that the Master Potter has created and will continue to create until the end of the millennium a great variety of characters, which all have one thing in common: that in the battle to bring their human nature under control, they had to learn to cut off those things which would have kept them out of the the kingdom (Matthew 5:29-30).
What is the point of expending effort on the study of God’s word and at the same time allowing such natural attributes as pride, selfishness, envy and self justification to remain as blemishes, marring the outline of our characters. The Potter also fills in indentations in order to achieve the final symmetry of the shape; and this can be likened to a recognition that there will always be positive things which require attention in our lives, the small everyday things — the kindness and encouragement to those around us, the way we react to the needs of our brethren and sisters. (Romans 7:19 and I Peter 2:5.)
When the vessel is placed in a kiln it is subjected to tremendous heat — the final work; the fiery judgment (I Corinthians 3:13; I Corinthians 15:43-44). One authority has defined pottery as
“that which is produced by firing clay shapes to a temperature sufficiently high enough to change the physical and chemical properties of the original clay into a new substance with many of the characteristics of stone.”
We will have to go through that fiery trial of having our innermost motives and desires examined by the Lord Jesus Christ; and when by the grace of God we emerge from the kiln, we will possess a glorious body, the physical and chemical properties of the original having been changed into a new substance, still having the same recognisable shape and outline, but now invested with immortality.
Putting You in Remembrance