Skip to main content

In the Potter's Hands

Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand."

Some years ago, it was pointed out to me that our relationship to God is described in several metaphorical ways, all of which matter. Some authors/teachers have even been known to rank the relationship descriptions in some way--for example, in levels of intimacy:

Clay/Potter
Slave/Master
Sheep/Shepherd
Subject/King
Son/Father
Bride/Groom

While I cannot argue with the theology of such a ranking, it does have the unintended side effect of causing the reader to dismiss the relationship descriptions listed earlier on the list. It's just as important to understand the potter/clay dynamic between us and God as it is anything else. He mentioned that particular picture dozens of times in books by no less than 4 biblical authors: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Paul, and John. Yes, He's our loving Father, but focusing only on Him as Father can lead us into missing out on some important truths.

We are clay, not pots
What is it about a clay and potter which describes how we are to relate to God? I've got a few, but let me first say what I believe the most important one: a clay is liquid. It's soft. It's essentially mud. Of the multiple passages which describe God as a Potter, only two of them describe us as pots, and in both of them, He reminds us that He can and will, if necessary, break us in pieces.

The idea of us being clay, as opposed to pots, is vital in our understanding that He shapes us, and is still shaping us. You are a work in progress. I am, too.

With that understanding under our belt, we can move forward in seeing what else this Potter/clay thing means:

1. Working out the bad stuff: At first, clay has things in it which shouldn't be there. The potter uses his hands to work out the impurities.

2. Shaping us: The potter shapes the clay into what he wants it to be. Sometimes, that means stretching, molding, pulling, pushing, and moving things around a bit. It's not always going to be comfortable.

3. The Sponge: while the potter's fingers  make changes to the general shape, he also uses a sponge to smooth out the bumps, so that the end product will be smooth.

4. Who's in charge: The clay has no say in what shape or type of vessel it will become. The Potter decides, and will make the clay according to the potter's purposes.

5. Beginning with the end in mind: Before actually starting, the potter knows what he wants to clay to look like when finished. He sees the completed cup, jar, or pot in that lump of clay long before anyone else does.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Excellent post, James. Keep it up! rob
September 13, 2011 at 10:17 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saying goodbye to one set of twins, and hello to another

"It's been ten whole years already? Wow! Hard to believe." Many a father will say something like that while shaking his head in disbelief, when his oldest approaches the 10th birthday. It's a milestone, not just for the kid, but for the parents. It's a head-shaker because I am reminded that on that day, 10 years ago, my life changed forever. In some ways, it has passed very quickly.  In other ways, it seems like it's been every bit of ten years. There are two distinct things, though, about the ten-year anniversary of my dadhood. The first is that I became a father of not one, but two little bundles of joy that Tuesday morning. Abby was born at 8:48, followed by her brother Jacob at 8:50. The second is that their birth marked some rare joy in the midst of the darkest day in our nation's history.  As my wife was in labor, a nurse came in and told us that an airplane had crashed into a skyscraper in New York. I turned on the labor room...
6 comments
Read more

Embarrassing video clip--John Cougar

I recently stumbled across some Youtube gold: a live performance by John Mellencamp when he was Johnny Cougar. He appears to be have been about 23, and he's singing "Ain't even Done With The Night", in front of a fairly unresponsive crowd with Bobby Bare (?!) in the front seat. Cougar/Mellencamp is dressed in a nerdy sweater and generally bears no resemblance to the singer as we knew him just 5 years later. He looks a lot more like Potsie from Happy Days than the guy who sang "Pink Houses". Certainly, there is no way to watch this and make a connection to the guy whose song "This is Our Country" beat us to death by overuse in pickup truck commercials. But the real entertainment value from this clip comes from the guys behind Cougar. In hot-pink tuxedos, there are 5 Pips-like backup dancers/singers who don't sing, but clap their hands real well. They essentially spend the entire song performing cheerleader dance routines not unlike those ...
14 comments
Read more

Is U2 a Christian band?

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" U2's new CD comes out this week, and it brings up that old discussion among Christians about whether u2 is a Christian band or not. Scripture tells us that all of creation speaks to the glory of God. Mainstream Christians have no problem acknowledging that mountains, flowers, and waterfalls glorify God without actually speaking His name. But we are mistaken if we forget that humans can do the same, simply by walking in their calling. If a country singer, for example, is truly walking in his calling, he can continue to sing about the pain caused by adultery, for example, and it glorifies God every bit as much as biblical tale of David and Bathsheba, which carries the same message about adultery. If God has created you to be a story-teller (and singers are story-tellers), then be a story-teller, and you will glorify the one who cr...
26 comments
Read more