Article: THE POTTER AND THE CLAY | Sis. Reena R George
Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O Lord, you are our Father,we are the clay, and you are our potter;we are all the work of your hand.”
Just a lump of clay-fashioned into a vase of exquisite design and artistry.Art fans and the common man admire its beauty and appreciate its strength and endurance.But,does anyone think of the long and rigorous testing and refining processes that the base material-the clay has undergone before it took its final form?Do they think of the talented Potter who with his deft hands fashioned it into the ultimate product?The lump of clay goes through painful processes of being placed on a wheel-like stand and made to whirl on and on and then placed in a very hot furnace till it cries out-‘No more,please!I can’t bear it!’The potter remains silent though, as he knows that the value of the finished product is based on the extent of being put through what the clay considers ordeals.
The above analogy is rightly applied to us -as the clay and Jesus as the Potter.What we are now is only because of His Master touch on us and His unique fashioning and designing into a unique masterpiece in the world.We have to yield to His hands that mould us and shape us according to His will .Sometimes we flinch at the pain and wonder why He is letting us go through such ordeals.Remember He is the Creator.Even though it pains His heart to see us going through fiery tempests and trials in life,He knows that in the end,we will come out unscathed.The higher the temperature He puts us in,the more durable we become.
The Word tells us-James 5:11.“Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”
We will not break at the slightest fall.Not only that-His hands are on the wheel at every point the clay is made to go in a dizzy swirl and shaped to finesse.He will never let go.He has the ultimate design in mind before He starts moulding and creating.
The clay has no right to question the potter about His mode of operation.It is his duty to yield and submit,trusting Him completely.Even if we complain and ask Him to stop the shaping process,He doesn’t interfere. If He stops half-way,He knows the strange and imperfect look that the finished product will have.
Romans 9:20.“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?”
The Lord who knows the end from the beginning is sure of what He is doing with the clay.A lump of clay without shape and form is transformed into an object of beauty and splendor.A lump of clay who no one except the Potter will cast a glance upon has received identity and become valuable.
He created us in His own image,breathed life into us,called us by name,chose us out of millions in the world,cleansed us of blemishes and spots and is preparing us for Eternity with a glorious appearance.
Let us sing—
“Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Thou art the potter, I am the clay
Mould me and make me after Thy will
While I am waiting yielded and still’.
Sis. Reena R George
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