The Artist’s Design

The Artist’s Design

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.

Jeremiah 18:4

IN WORD A potter isn’t very emotionally engaged with mass-produced pottery. In fact, in mass production, the potter is usually a machine. But our Potter is deeply invested in His work. He crafts each piece individually with a specific design in mind, and He loves what He does.

Our Potter, however, has a problem that no other potter has. The clay in His hands has a mind of its own. It should be thrilled to be touched by the Master, but it develops its own ideas of beauty and comfort. It wants an identity of its own, largely independent of the Craftsman who put it on the wheel in the first place. Clay with a mind of its own has the potential to be astoundingly beautiful—a living, breathing masterpiece. Sadly, it also has the potential to be stubbornly, ignorantly insistent on its own ugliness. And when that happens, the Potter weeps.

That happens a lot. The Potter’s plan is to display His artistry, but if a piece of clay isn’t allowing His craftsmanship, He’ll contrive some pretty drastic measures. He’ll press it into a ball and start over. He’ll take the same clay and use a different approach. His goal is beauty, and He will stop at nothing to achieve it.

IN DEED Ask yourself two questions today: What does the Potter dream of doing in my life? and What is He actually doing right now? Don’t answer too quickly. Consider the heart of the Potter—His ultimate goal, His tender care, and His exquisite artistry. And then apply His heart to your present circumstances.

Those questions will launch you into a reorientation that every piece of clay needs to go through: a shift from a clay-perspective to a potter-perspective. We need to see our circumstances today in light of eternal glory. We need to see ourselves as expressions of His delight. When we do, our hardness will turn to softness, our stubbornness will give way to compliance, and our trials will become much more meaningful.

When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small package.

—JOHN RUSKIN