What sort of a vessel are you?
The abundance of pottery and widespread familiarity with the process of its manufacture provided object lessons for understanding spiritual truths. Isaiah referred several times to potters and their products. He likened the fury of God’s chosen instruments to a potter treading clay (Isa. 41:25). Israel is compared to a potter’s vessel that, when broken, will not yield a single useful fragment (Isa. 30:14). For Isaiah the potter’s work demonstrated the sovereignty of the Creator (Isa. 45:9). Paul took up the same analogy to make a point about election (Rom. 9:20–21): the potter can make any sort of vessel he chooses. Jeremiah also allegorically related a potter and his work to God, who molded His people Israel (the clay) and is able to rework a spoiled product (Jer. 18:1–6). A completed clay vessel was used by the prophet to announce the fate of Jerusalem, which like the vessel would be irreparably smashed (Jer. 19:1–2, 10–11).
In the church there are individuals who honor the Lord as a result of their dedication to follow His truth. These people are useful to the Lord in His work because their commitment to His Word prepares them for His service. However there are also Christians who because of their lack of commitment to God’s truth bring dishonor on Him while they seek to be His instruments of service