The word potsherd caught my attention this morning as I studied the Word. It means a broken piece of pottery, symbolic of the state of all mankind. We are all broken from The Fall, in need of The Potter’s restoration.
I pondered Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13 (NIV):
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Like salt that loses its flavor, clay that is dry, brittle, and unyielding is of no use to the Kingdom. Similarly, a heart that is no longer softened by the washing of the Word becomes hardened—resistant to the gentle hands of The Potter, unyielding to The Holy Spirit and unable to hear the voice of The Savior.
Unlike salt that becomes useless or clay that becomes hardened, God’s children are never discarded. Even when our hearts grow hard, and we stop pursuing Him, He never stops pursuing us. He longs to protect His children from being trampled from worldly thinking by infusing our hearts with His wisdom. In His mercy He desires to gently bathe our hearts again with His Word—softening what’s become rigid, restoring what’s been fractured, and causing our hearts to beat with His.
Sometimes marriage can resemble a potsherd—shattered, fragmented, seemingly beyond repair. When one or both spouses cease from seeking their Creator and neglect letting His Word wash over them renewing their minds and cultivating a heart of compassion and mercy, marriages become strained. When we let the busyness of life cause us to neglect our most important relationships, our hearts become hardened and they lose their capacity to receive and give love. We become embittered, crushed by the world’s expectations.
But God (The Master Potter), Holy Spirit (The Teacher of Wisdom) and Jesus (The Author and Finisher of our faith) doesn’t discard broken vessels. He redeems them. What’s been shattered can be restored in His hands. When we yield our heart to Him, allowing the cleansing, healing flow of His Word to soften and mold us, He can bring suppleness and tenderness to our dry bones, creating beauty from brokenness and restoration to broken marriages.
