Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8
I recently watched a friend of mine, who is a potter, create a chalice out of clay. First, he made a cylinder for the body of the chalice, and then he made a bowl, which became the top of the chalice. He spoke about how clay is simply dirt — soil, minerals, and just the right amount of moisture. When put in the right hands, and using the right tools, clay can be molded and refined to create countless objects.
There are numerous times when the Bible reminds us that God is a potter, and we are the clay. It occurred to me that, in the right hands, we can be molded and changed for the better. Like jars of clay, each of us is unique. We are easily broken. And, like pottery, our life here on earth is temporary.
In the words of Adelaide Pollard’s hymn,
“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.”
Each of us has been created by God to be a unique person – a person unlike anyone else who has ever been created and born into this world. We are each uniquely made, nurtured, and shaped by God. Only God can mold and shape us into the finished people that God wants us to become.
May we remember to give thanks and praise to the One who keeps forming, and re-forming, each of us. May we remember that God continues to form, and re-form, our congregation. How will you let God shape your thoughts, words, and actions in the days ahead? In the right hands, we are created, molded, and refined until we are changed for the better. All thanks to God, the Divine Potter, who molds us and re-forms us, day after day.
In Christ,
Pastor John
