The Potter and the Clay

I brought something familiar to you today. Yes, play dough. I'll pass it around so each of you can feel it. If you were to describe play-dough to someone who had never seen it, what would you say? Yes, it's soft and smooth and squishy. You can change the shape of it easily. You can pat it out thin or roll it into a ball shape. You can make all sorts of shapes and objects with it. When I was growing up, we didn't have play-dough, but we did have something like it. What is that? Yes, clay. It's a lot like clay.

The Bible doesn't talk about play-dough, but it does talk about clay. Of course, that would be a common material to the people in Bible times because they used clay to make lots of useful items like jugs and pots and dishes. Listen to what the Bible says in Isaiah 64:8. "Yet, O LORD, You are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand."

Who is the clay? Who is the potter? What is a potter? Why do you think the Bible compares us to clay? Why doesn't it call us rocks or bricks or something that is already finished being made? I think it's because God is always molding us and changing us. He wants us to be like His Son Jesus so He is always in the process of making us to be like Him. He's teaching us; He's disciplining us. He puts people and happenings in our lives that help to mold us. Even when bad things happen to us or those around us, God is using these bad times to change us and shape us.

Do you think God will ever be finished with us, and we'll turn into a hardened piece of clay? I don't think so. He'll always be wanting us to be growing and changing and having new purposes. I heard this week about a 102 year old man who lives near here. He says God must still have a reason for him to be alive. God is still working in his life and making him to be more like Jesus.

So let's remember that no matter when good things or bad things happen to us, God is using them to shape us and form us because He loves us so much. Let's stay soft and squishy and open to God so he can do His work in our lives.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for being our Father. Help us to be the kind of clay that your Hands can work on so that we can be more like Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen