‘I went down to the potter’s house as the Lord told me. One pot wasn’t working out, so the potter pushed the clay back down and started again. “That’s exactly what I am doing with Israel,’ explained the Lord. “They will lose their land and their temple, and I will start again with them. Of course, they could just repent and avoid all this, but they refuse.”
The invention of pottery transformed life in the Middle East. People could now store food. Villages and cities could develop. As a 26 year old, taking a year off from Seminary training, I paid to be a volunteer on a 4 week archaeological dig in Israel. It wasn’t a stunning site for artefacts, but I enjoyed the company, I learned lots, and I had a ball. Basically, 6 mornings a week, it was up early, on to the Tel, and then digging or scrapping in a 2-meter square, looking for things. The most common thing was bits of pottery. Last year, on our 2 week pilgrimage in Israel, once we were out of the paved surfaces of Jerusalem, because I knew what to look for, I was seeing bits of broken pottery, thousands of years old, in lots of unexpected places, just lying around.
Jeremiah, watching the potter, was struck by the reshaping. Once the clay had gone wrong, it needed to be reworked. It is well worth reflecting on our own lives, and how God has used events to reshape and rebuild us. This time however, I simply want to focus on the fact that something simple that people used millennia ago, is still there to pick up and hold.
I wonder what will be left from our lives in the distant future? If the digital records aren’t lost, there will be photos and documents that will tell a little about our lives. I doubt there will be anything left to pick up and hold. But we all leave a legacy that impacts the immediate future, and even the next few generations. Love and care shown to grandchildren is a great blessing. Faithful service to a congregation, a workplace or a community organization, has an impact that lasts. Kindness and compassion shown to others is never wasted. Clear thinking or organizing, when others are in a panic, is good work. Choosing to keep trusting and living in grace rather than fear, blesses those around us. Kindness and faithfulness now help change the lives of others. Trust that your life and your goodness make a difference.
