My mind has been caught up with the imagery contained in the following scripture from Jeremiah 18. The scripture tells us that Jeremiah was invited by the Lord to go down to the potter’s house, and he would be given a message. So, Jeremiah went to the house and saw the potter working at the potter’s wheel. He saw the potter with a lump of wet clay in his hands, and as the potter worked, moulded, and formed it into a vessel that, in Jeremiah’s opinion, was good. The scripture then goes on:
“Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:5–6)
As I meditated over this event, I thought of how I have been moulded and formed by people in my life – my parents, my wife Betty and family, people in the congregations I have attended, as well as my past work friends. This verse from Proverbs 2:20 follows this line of thinking:
“You must follow the example of good men and live a righteous life.”
What a challenge it is for us to be like a potter and be able to influence the lives of others for good! We can be an example to others by them seeing our good works. Albert Schweitzer once said:
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others – it is the only thing.”
Benjamin Franklin, a signatory to the Constitution of the United States, wrote:
“A good example is the best sermon.”
Just as the life and ministry of Jesus have influenced the lives of so many people over two thousand years, so that challenge continues to rest upon our shoulders — to be role models for those we associate with, and particularly with children. And I would imagine that many of us have children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren.
I recall reading an experience told by Cathy Guisewite, creator of the syndicated cartoon Cathy. She said:
“I believe very strongly in visualising goals way beyond what seems humanly possible. I got this from my parents. When my mother first suggested I submit some scribbles to a syndicate, I told her I knew nothing about comic strips.”
My mother told me, “So what? You’ll learn.”
Cathy went on:
“All parents believe their children can do the impossible. They thought it the minute we were born, and no matter how hard we’ve tried to prove them wrong, they all think it about us now. And the really annoying thing is, they’re probably right.”
Billy Graham, the famous preacher, once said in The Hour of Decision in 1958:
“Children will invariably talk, eat, walk, think, respond, and act like their parents. Give them a target to shoot at. Give them a goal to work toward. Give them a pattern which they can see clearly, and you give them something that gold and silver cannot buy.”
Leonardo da Vinci had started work on a large canvas in his studio. For a while he worked at it – choosing the subject, planning the perspective, sketching the outline, applying the colours with his own inimitable genius. Then suddenly he ceased the painting, leaving it unfinished. He subsequently summoned one of his students and invited him to complete the work. The student protested that he was both unworthy and unable to complete the great painting which his master had begun. But da Vinci silenced him:
“Will not what I have done inspire you to do your best?”
Our Master began two thousand years ago – by what he said, by what he did, and supremely by what he suffered. He illustrated his message, and he has left us to finish the picture.
Bill Gillard