day no. 15,494: the finality of being fired

Clement, in his second letter, makes a great point regarding our opportunity in the here and now to repent which will expire when the refining fire of judgment descends upon the earth

2 Clement 8:1-3
While, therefore, we are upon the earth, let us repent. For we are as clay in the hands of the workman. In like manner as the potter, if while he be making a vessel, it turn amiss in his hands, or be crushed, can mould it again, but if he have once cast it into the fiery furnace can no longer amend it; so let us, so long as we are in this world repent with all our hearts of the wickedness that we have committed in the flesh, that we may be saved of the Lord while as yet we have time for repentance. For after that we are departed out of this world, we are no longer able there to confess or repent.

The Potter is free to rework the clay until it is fired. Once it is tested by flame, it hardens into the shape it was and remains that. God in His grace can remake our entire lives if they are placed into His capable hands. But God has put in motion a principle of hardening that will occur upon His return or the end of one's earthly life. At that point, the tree stays where it fell and the soul is hardened in the state it departed. This same principle works in favor for those found in the form of God's Son, Jesus at His return or their departure. If by God's grace you are in good shape when you die or He returns, you will remain in good shape as the fire will fix your eternal place in His good graces.