One of the most vivid images/pictures which has always interested me has been the potter/clay one. Maybe it is because I’ve never done pottery but have only watched it being done. But there are a lot of scenes like that. I might watch a cooking show with Jo. Looks intriguing and sometimes very tasty, but because I don’t cook it doesn’t inspire me to learn. I suppose it should. But in my mind it is fine for someone else! Just not me! Give me my bicycle!! 🙂
But I guess what strikes me about the potter and clay is its biblical reference and picture. Isaiah 64: 6,8-9 is a picture of the potter and clay. Isaiah pulls no punches in verse 8 when he says, “But now, LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter, And all of us are the work of Your hand.”
WOW! Isaiah, as I said, pulls no punches. God is our Father. God is the potter. We are the clay. So simple to see. He is in control. He is the One who shapes us. He is the One who molds us, getting His hands filled with dirt and clay. And here is the hard part for us-starting over shaping us when we are not compliant or stubborn or need re-shaped.
That is only part of the process! Then the newly-shaped pottery is put into a kiln and fired. Do you see the application for us? Consider these words from Isaiah: “And all of us are the work of Your hand.” He makes no mistakes.
“Father, may I be moldable clay in Your hands.”
I also love the imagery associated with the potter and the clay.
From the dust of earth we were made in His image, by His hands, for His purpose. The process of forming and molding, the process of being put through the kiln isn’t just for the purpose of being empty vessels. We are to transport and dispense the love of God where ever we may be carried.
Thanks for taking my illustration even further Ryan. You make a great point.
This might sound a bit irreverent, Bill, but when I read your post, that old song “Bend Me, Shape Me” came to mind. “Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me, long as you love me, it’s alright.”
God, as long as you love us, and you always will, shape us into your vessels of love and kindness.
Blessings!
I don’t see it as irreverent at all martha. I am often drawn to songs-religious and secular- to make a point. Unless the song is irreverent or vulgar I think it is safe to say all music comes from God. I’m glad you brought the song to mind. But now you have me going to YouTube or Google to find out who sang it. 🙂 As I’m with you on God’s part. American Breed.