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Scripture for the day: Jeremiah 18:2-6 "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."
Thought for the day: When God created mankind He didn't just take the "dust of the earth" He found there and breathe life into it; He shaped it and formed it into the kind of creature He wanted it to be first. Then, when the creation was ready, He breathed into it His own breath, the breath of life.
When the potter sits at her wheel to make a vase or a cooking pot or any other thing, she doesn't just leave the clay in its unformed lump; she carefully molds and shapes it into the proper size and configuration for the task intended. That may take some time or even several tries but she'll keep at it until the pot is just the way she intends for it to be.
When God redeems the lost, it's only the beginning of what He would have them look like when He's done. The mature Christian has been through much to bring them into the shape God intends for them. For some it requires reshaping; for others the process may include starting over almost from the beginning. Still others may have to experience the fiery furnace in order to be hardened and fit for service. Many must endure the rough feel of sandpaper as the rough edges are removed and the smoothened areas polished. But we must remember, most people, if they were to go into a diamond mine in South Africa would step on those precious stones because of their inability to recognize them for what they are. Diamonds are just dingy looking stones until the master cutter finishes his work. They must be hammered, cut precisely, and polished many times over before they resemble the beautiful gems we see in rings and necklaces. They must endure the most brutal treatment if the best of their inner quality is to be exposed. Then the whole world takes note of their beauty.
Several years ago there was a toy introduced on the market that caught the imagination of many young children. Basically, it consisted of a metal can full of sand with a motor attached to make it turn over and over on a spindle. Into the sand you could put any type of rock you might find on the ground. When you turned the switch the can would rotate, causing the sand to wear away the rough edges of the stones, making them smooth and quite pretty so that, after hours of waiting, you could stop the machine take out your prize.
Some kinds of rocks are too soft to polish. They disintegrate under the constant wear and become sand themselves. Others are so hard they take extra time for the rough edges to wear off. Some Christians fail when roughly handled. Others take more time for God to sand off the rough edges. But many a triumph of God's grace has come through the roughest edges. And many of the roughest things in our lives have been used of God to make us fairly shine with His grace, which, by the way is always the purpose.
Now go take on your world. - Bill