The Potter's Hand

The Divine Potter  
[quatrain of interlocking rhyme and intentionally irregular iambic meter]

Held i’th’hands of the Heavenly Potter,

He moulds every curve and fold in the clay. 

Faulty grooves and dents are divinely purpos’d,

Surely following the Potter’s perfect way.

                I was reading the famous Shakespearean tragedy Antony and Cleopatra last week as part of my English Lit course, and I came across the expression “accidents unpurposed” uttered by the tragic hero Antony in Act 4 as he referred to all the deeds of the past his noble subordinate Eros had done. All the things Eros had done in his life – all the things he had been through – these could all be called “accidents unpurposed” – random occurrences which have no higher meaning than as a trivial coincidence. I thought about all the things that have filled every day of every year each of us have ever lived: things small and things large, achievements celebrated and wrongdoings punished, once-in-a-lifetime experiences and trivial activities… We’ve all been through a lot, but can these things be dismissed as “accidents unpurposed”? Being born in a particular country, sent to a particular school, thrown into friendships seemingly by random occurrence,  but really – were any of these things “accidents unpurposed”? Or was there a reason behind these things? And if there wasn’t an active purpose to each occurrence, can we make use of what God has allowed to happen in our lives, and glorify Him through these experiences?

                I believe as servants of Christ we should live with an outlook that God has brought us up from Day One to be unique vessels for Him. He has placed us in a particular family with particular relationship dynamics, tied us to friends who may have been great friends or who may have treated us badly, gave us the opportunity to visit faraway places and experience foreign cultures, and so on and so forth. Even the not-so-rosy experiences like growing up in unfortunate circumstances, enduring the long-drawn aftermath of a tragic event… In few of these things are we alone, and in many of these things God teaches us lessons, strengthens our faith, or shows us how to face life as a faithful child of God.

                I have met one too many people who say they’d like to block out past experiences, forget them, behave like none of it ever happened. On the contrary, I have met some people whose attitude to their past taught me a valuable lesson and drove me to write this post: They say – “God allowed these things to happen to me. God allowed these things to happen in the lives of some others around me as well. I want to be a faithful servant of Christ, showing love and friendship and support and encouragement – doing all I can with the love reflective of Christ within me – to help others with similar experiences.” I don’t think things happen in our lives as “accidents unpurposed”. As I said before, even if there hadn’t been an active purpose to a certain event in our lives, it was an occurrence God allowed to happen. We should glorify God all the more not only in thanksgiving that He pulls us through these experiences, but also in encouraging others and building others up in the furtherance of His kingdom and expansion of the body of disciples.

                But what about those who don’t have those bitter past experiences, tragedies we simply want to forget? We are fortunate, certainly, and we thank God for that. But at the same time, we mustn’t have a complacent attitude towards the experiences God has put us through. David was a shepherd-boy tending his father’s sheep, and throughout that time, he had used his slingshot and smooth stones to defeat lions and wolves predating on the sheep. Years of doing this perfected his precision and expertise in slingshots. He would so seamlessly strike his target every time a predator came, and soon he did this in front of an Israelite army whose troops stood with mouths agape, watching as an unarmed boy approached a bellowing 9-feet tall giant to deliver his people from what could’ve been slavery to the Philistines. We may not have been shepherd-boys or shepherd-girls, but we have done things which to us seem normal or trivial, or really nothing to shout about. Yet, in all these things, God has trained us up to be His unique servants. When God calls you to an area of service in the church or in your community, He doesn’t do so on a whim. He has trained you up since Day One without your knowing it, bringing up His child to answer and fulfil His calling. This involves strengthening your faith to rely on His abounding grace in the toughest situations, and also equipping you with abilities that would enable you to carry out your work for the expansion of His Kingdom.

                I feel that we all need to adopt a Kingdom-centred perspective. God has shaped our lives to be pleasing offerings for His Kingdom. What can you do today to further it? God has set you apart since before you even knew your existence, and the intricate collection of experiences and valuable lessons learnt which make up your life is unique. You, as His vessel, can use all you have been given – memories, abilities, experience – to build others up, teach and encourage. God is your loving Father who has brought you up and set you apart to further His Kingdom. In everything you do, with everything you have, offer yourself for the expansion of His Magnificent Kingdom, making use of all that has taken place in your God-given life.

“Were the whole realm of nature mine, it were an offering far too small. Love so amazing, so divine – demands my soul, my life, my all.”