"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Jeremiah was told by God to go down to the potter's house and see how he makes his vessels: "The jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so [the potter] crushed it into a lump of clay... and started over" (Jer. 18:4 NLT). Why did he start over? To make something better out of it! Here's the good news: life may have crushed you, but you're still in God's hands! Your family and friends may think you're beyond repair but God doesn't, and His opinion makes the difference. Your life may seem to be out of control today, but in reality you're still on the potter's wheel. "As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand." (Jeremiah 18:6)
One day a friend of Michelangelo saw him working on a piece of marble he'd found on a rubbish dump near Rome. When he asked the master sculptor what he was doing he replied: "There's an angel inside and I'm going to bring him out." How wonderful! From a dump to a showcase. From a rejected piece of marble to a priceless work of art.
That's what God does! When Jesus called His disciples He said: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Mt 4:19). You are not born qualified - you become qualified....as you are reshaped. How? By spending time with Jesus! Like the potter, God looks at us and sees a beautiful work in progress. God is the Potter we are the Clay. God has a plan for you. As we submit ourselves to His handiwork, the image of a lump of clay diminishes, and we are formed into the image of His son Jesus Christ!
