The Marred Jar of Clay

"Would God still forgive me?"

Her big, black, frightened eyes glistened with fresh tears, I tried to hold back my own. Guilt eats her up; fear of judgment creeps at the back of her mind, while I sit, silently praying for the right words.


Maybe you had asked this question yourself. You fall into the trap of sin even after being born again, and wonder in desperation how to get back in track with the Lord. After being in the light for quite some time, you unconsciously consciously take the wrong curb and get yourself into the darker side of town. Yeah, it's fine and pleasurable for a while, but when you realize you're at the wrong side and go back, the struggle with guilt doesn't silence itself.

"Would God still forgive me?"

1 John 1:9 reminds us that, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."



Who says our sin is mightier than our God? Guilt would be there when we sin, yes, but think of it as the pushing reminder that we are still in the flesh and we have to be dependent on the Lord. It is the Holy Spirit's way of telling us, "My child, you're swerving from the light again."


Acknowledge your guilt, but do not let it eat you up. Do not wallow in the sloppy guilt that keeps you from going back to your romance with Christ. Do not settle with concluding statements like, "Well, I really am filthy, the Lord doesn't want anything to do with me now." Know that the enemy injects us with thoughts that remind us of our sins, especially the most repulsive ones. Would you really allow that the joy of your salvation be stolen? Would you allow the enemy to rejoice over his successful plan to pull you from God?




One of the most classic images the Lord has given us to represent how He transforms us is the potter, and the clay under his hands.

"Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand..." Jeremiah 18:6b

Christians are works in progress. Some are almost perfect clay pots, some are barely shaped, but rest assured, we are still on the wheel; only the Lord knows how much transformation we had been through and how near we have come to Christ-likeness.


Does this mean that we are in a steady progress towards our goal? No, of course not. Most of the time we go 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4, slipping back a few times before going back up, instead of the steady progressing we are made to believe in. For although we are renewed, we still live in the world in our flesh, and most of the time, we get marred along the process of transformation. Perhaps the impurities that had caused the marring were the things we had refused to give up, or our simple acts of disobedience to His commands.

"But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as it seemed best to him." Jeremiah 18:4

Would the Lord get tired because you slipped? No. Do not get discouraged by the stone that appears to ruin your clay. But allow the grace and mercy of God to refashion you; He is more than willing to put you back on His wheel.


So okay, let's say you had given in to your sinful nature and now you want to go back to your fellowship with God. My guilt is eating me; the Lord is hiding His face from me now because of my disobedience!




Remember King David.

He was called a man after God's own heart despite the repulsive sins his hands had insisted on making. He murdered innocent Uriah after committing adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife. He gave in to lust and trusted his own judgment. Why would this kind of man be a man after God's heart?

"Then David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.'" 2 Samuel 12:13

David's confession led to his repentance; in the same way, the Lord only asks that we confess our sins and repent, turning away from the sin a full 180 degrees. This is not about constant asking of forgiveness after repeated commitment of sins. Remember that the Lord does not take pleasure in empty prayers and people who call out to him, "Lord!" yet refuse to follow all that He teaches.

"Of them the proverbs are true: 'A dog returns to its vomit,' and, 'A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.'"

2 Peter 2:22

Yes, there are times that we still sin. I know I do. But this is because flesh would always be prone to sin. This doesn't mean we could not conquer it though. Christ did. And because in Christ we had already died to flesh and are no longer tied to it (Romans 6:11), in Christ we would also emerge victorious over temptations, striving daily to turn our backs to our old, sinful ways. Even though along the process, we slip a few times, it doesn't mean we're stopping and aren't moving forward.



As you move forward, may you also learn to pray the way David had prayed when the guilt of his sin had crept in to him.

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD' - and You forgave the guilt of my sin."

Psalm 32:1-5

"Would God still forgive me?"

It's how you respond to sin, brothers and sisters. Either you confess and turn away from the sin like King David had, or you keep it hidden and wallow in it and the guilt along with it as Judas Iscariot had.



"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hope unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."

Hebrews 10:19-23

Be confident in the Lord. The more you doubt His ability to forgive your seemingly unforgivable sin, the more you limit His forgiveness through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. I pray the Lord move in you, my dear brethren.