be·com·ing /biˈkəmiNG/  [Noun]  The process of coming to be something or of passing into a state. To grow to be, to turn into. A human spirit is, in a real sense, not a finished product; rather it is a lifelong endeavor of becoming. Each day, through the choices we make, the words we say, and the thoughts that consume our minds, we're in the process of becoming. What few people really stop to consider is what are you becoming. Do you know, do you care? Perhaps even fewer think it can be known. I believe rather strongly that there is a rhyme and a reason to the universe and our character and our destiny are part of the answer. There are, however, three 'facts' we must grasp clearly before we ever proceed much further. (1) Life is Short. (2) Life is Important. (3) Life has Consequences.

“We become what we love. What we put first in our lives is what we receive from life.” ~Guy Finley

   If you agree with my 'facts' as stated above, then we ought to focus on what's important, before the consequences kick in because time is slipping past whether you want it to or not! Got it, good. How are we going to decide what's important? Should we take our chances with time and circumstances and just see what comes our way? Should we listen to the crowd, take a poll and listen to popular opinion and then try to gain the admiration of family and friends only to become a hero in our own minds? (that's a terrible sentence, I know) Or should we take the easy route, throw up our hands and admit it is all to much religion, philosophy and psychology for busy people like us?  Perhaps that will work for some, but this is the only life I've got and I want to think this through a bit more. I suggest that the Bible, written of several millennium  has more experience with these sorts of questions than any other source available.     There is an image in Jeremiah 18 of potter working a lump of clay. God invited Jeremiah to consider this scene and learn what he can from it. The potter has in his or her mind a specific purpose for this lump known only to the potter. As the potter begins to work, a flaw develops that must be addressed or the vessel will fail, perhaps catastrophically  in the kiln under moments of intense heat and stress. So the potter deals with the flaws before they get too bad, and begins to work again. The clay yields to his skilled hands and rises bit by bit from a shapeless mass to an elegant perfume vase, water jug or cooking plate. Each highly valued and uniquely cast.     There's something comforting just knowing that we are clay in God's hands. That the same hands to created pulsars, galaxies and planets are also working on me. The same mind that created pedals, wings and music are working on me. It is also incredibly good news to think that He's not done with me yet. There's more to me yet to be made, more art to be expressed and more flaws to be removed.     When I went through Ordination, the Bishop asks us a series of Historical questions that may seem odd today, but connect us to the Potter's hands and the Potter's purposes.  "Are you going on to perfection?" We are if we yield to the potter's hands.     I encourage the reader to listen to the audio podcast to learn more about Jeremiah's insights into God's role as potter, and to read through the sermon notes.  QUESTIONS:  What attracts you to the image of God as the potter and us the clay? What about this metaphor do you find repulsive?  Be creative: What kind of vessel do you imagine God is making of you? Sermon audio:The Potter and the Clay 6.30.13E The Potter and the Clay 6.30.13L Sermon Notes: Sermon Notes 06.30.13 Potter and the Clay