THE POTTER’S WORK ON THE CLAY

But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the CLAY, and You our POTTER; and all we are the WORK of Your hand – Isaiah 64:8

There is much more to learn about the POTTER’S WORK on the CLAY: “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the CLAY, and You our POTTER; and all we are the WORK of Your hand” (Isa. 64:8). However flawed we might be, God never throws away a piece of His clay. This text reinforces the account in Jeremiah 18, in which: The POTTER is GOD, our heavenly Father; the CLAY, represents individuals and collectives of God's children; and the POTTER'S WHEEL represents earthly life and circumstances. There are three precious “life lessons” for us to learn from this wonderful theme.

First, God, the Powerful Potter, is always in control. As His children, we must realise that we can no more “make ourselves” into anything than “a lump of clay” can make anything of itself. God is the Potter; we are “the clay.” Just as the potter exercises his will over the lump of clay, God desires to exercise His will over us. People who boast about being a “self-made man” or “self-made woman” are simply saying that “everything they are, everything they have, and everything they have become” come from their own human efforts: “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps” (Pro.16:9, NLT). When we attempt to be “the Potter” of our own lives, we get into trouble, accruing “cracks” and “chips” along the way. “We are not our own, we were bought with a price”; we must yield our lives to God for molding and shaping (1Cor.6:20).

Secondly, God’s Purpose is to make us Vessels of Honour; to transform us by His grace, from a worthless piece of clay into glorious vessels. The vessels that bring the greatest honour and glory to God are those that are conformed to the image of Christ: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom.8:29). The apostle Paul wrote: “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Gal.4:19). When a potter sits at his wheel to work with a lump of clay, he has a purpose in mind, which may be to turn the lump into a bowl, a cup, a pitcher, or a vase. He’ll work that piece of clay towards the fulfilment of the purpose.

Finally, the Potter’s Process is to use His hands and the wheel to mold us into vessels for His pleasure. But transforming a lump of clay into a beautiful vessel takes time and is often very painful. So is the process of transforming fleshly clay into vessels of honour in Christ’s Image. Paul aptly described this: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2Cor.4: 7-9).

The clay does not usually yield so easily, hence the potter begins by applying pressure to the foundation of the piece of clay. As it softens to his touch, he then begins to work the clay from the bottom up. After forming a tower or pillar out of the clay, the potter digs his fingers right into the very heart of the clay to form a cavity. As he opens up the heart of the clay, he begins to transform it into what he desires for it to become. Like a lump of clay, we are often resistant to yield to the Potter's hands, and pressure must be applied, as God allows us to go through trials to soften us to be more compliant to His Will.

Once we soften to the touch of the Perfect Potter's Hand, He goes to work on our hearts, transforming us from the inside out, like the potter works the clay. Whatever error we’ve fallen into in life, there is no irreparable damage with God!