Title: Life Like Mud
Content Title: Life Like Mud
Bible: Jeremiah 18:1-6
The text tells us that the purpose and content of life is not in us humans, but in God's plan and providence. It tells us that the way to live a true life is to enjoy a life of true joy when we know God's will and plan and respond to it. I hope you will discover the providence of God through the text and live a beautiful life.
First: Life under the sovereignty of God
“When I went down to the potter's house, I saw him working with a wheelbarrow” (verse 3). A potter is a person who makes pots out of clay. In the text, the potter here refers to God. In fact, in Isaiah 64:8, it says that you are the potter. God said to Jeremiah. You said, get up and go down to the potter's house. It means to go to the house of a potter who makes pots out of clay and learn about life. He speaks again to Jeremiah. As clay is in the potter's hand, so you are in my hand. Our successes and failures are in the midst of God.
Second: Life under God's purpose
“A vessel made of clay broke out of the potter’s hand, and from it he made another vessel, according to what he thought was good” (verse 4). What's the mud here? If you look at the Hebrew Bible, you can see that the word “hapoari” has several meanings. Garbage, ashes, heaps of dirt, it means something like that. Maybe it's the face of life. In other words, mud means something soft, useless, worthless, dirty. But the potter makes the soil into a plate, a rice bowl, and a soup bowl. God works like a potter with a purpose. God has a plan for each life. God has a plan for my life.
Third: Life under God's blessing
“Can I not do to you, O house of Israel, as the potter does, says the LORD, O house of Israel, as clay is in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hands” (verse 6). Look at the potter working with clay. What to do when the bowl is damaged? don't throw it away. Start rubbing it again by hand. And then, why not make a new one with a good vessel? This is the power of the gospel. This is what the Lord is doing. We are all bowls. What kind of bowl should it be? It should be a vessel that you use seriously. God is the potter. So, a broken life is made anew. He heals broken lives and strengthens sick ones. This means that it will be different when it is in God's hands. Clay is insignificant, but when held in the hands of a potter, it becomes pottery.