This week I would like to take a look at “The Teacup Story.” There’s a children song that says, “He still working on me.” I’m not perfect yet… because His work is not finished. May we all see ourselves and God’s creative mastery in this teacup story. This is a wonderful inspirational story to go along with the Bible story of the potter and the clay found in Jeremiah 18.
The Teacup Story
There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful cup. They said, “May we see that? We’ve never seen one quite so beautiful.”
As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the cup spoke. “You don’t understand,” it said. “I haven’t always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, ‘let me alone,’ but he only smiled, ‘Not yet.’
“Then I was placed on a spinning wheel,” the cup said, “and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. Stop it! I’m getting dizzy! I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, ‘Not yet.’
“Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat!” the teacup said. “I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening, and I could read his lips as He shook his head, ‘Not yet.’
“Finally, the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. ‘There, that’s better,’ I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. ‘Stop it, stop it!’ I cried. He only nodded, ‘Not yet.’
“Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening, nodding his head saying, ‘Not yet.’
“Then I knew there wasn’t any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf.
One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, ‘Look at yourself.’ And I did. I said, ‘That’s not me; that couldn’t be me. It’s beautiful. I’m beautiful.’
‘I want you to remember, then,’ he said, ‘I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you’d have dried up.
I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.
I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn’t put you there, you would have cracked.
I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn’t done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life.
And if I hadn’t put you back in that second oven, you wouldn’t survive for very long because the hardness would not have held.
Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'”
Lesson from the Teacup Story:
This teacup story illustrates what Jeremiah wrote by the inspiration of God:
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!” Jeremiah 18:1-6
Moral of the Teacup Story:
God knows what He’s doing (for all of us). He is the Potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will. May the teacup story become our story as we willingly yield to our Potter’s hand.
After reading this story, I immediately thought of the beautiful Hymn “Have thy own way.” Take a look at the words from this hymn below…
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Search me and try me, Master, today! Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now, As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Wounded and weary, help me, I pray! Power, all power, surely is Thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Hold o’er my being absolute sway! Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, living in me.
Written by Adelaide A. Pollard and music by George C. Stebbins.
Have you really taken a look at the words from this hymn? In the hands of the Master Potter (God) can take the clay (us) and make something beautiful out of it. The key is your submission or letting God take control of your life. So many times, we tell God how to make or form the clay. We tell God what we want to be and will not let God make what He wants us to be.
In Closing, have you let God have His own way? Have you submitted to God in ALL things? 100%? To submit all to God, you need to have a relationship with Him. So, how’s your relationship?
Maybe you never had a relationship with God, or maybe you have lost your fellowship with Him. There’s no better time than the present to get a relationship with God or to renew your relationship with Him. Please, take a moment right now and dedicate yourself to Christ Our Savior.
It’s easy and free. All you need to do is ask the Lord to come into your life. Please… if you don’t know Christ or have fallen away, please pray… Tell God you believe His Son Jesus paid for your sins and rose again. Tell God you are sorry and want to start Living for Him. He will forgive your sins and mistakes and give you Everlasting Life with Him… and place His Spirit deep within your heart. In 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
When we submit to God, He starts making something beautiful out of our life’s. Always remember… to see a rainbow, you have to have a storm.
May God Bless and Keep you!
Bob
I thank you for reading my blog. I do not claim to be any expert or affiliated with any religious organization. All I can say is that I’m affiliated with my Lord Jesus Christ. This is one man’s opinion and observation. My hope is I stirred up some thoughts for you to think about. There is one place where we can find all the answers to life. That road map is Commonly known as the Bible. If you want the answers to life all you have to do is read. If you would like me to pray with you or want to send a comment, please email me at Bob.L@magnificentpromises.com
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
