He Is the Potter, We Are the Clay

The Book of Genesis Day 18 Ge 2:6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Mist plus dust = clay, and God now has the mass of material which He uses to form man. The pliability of this clay gives us much to ponder. Let’s begin in Isa 64:8, “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.” The Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul echoes a similar thought in Ro 9:20, “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" There are strong pro-life implications in these verses that we would do well to consider before choosing to end the life of a God-created unborn child! We are the pots, He is the Potter! How absurd to think that we, as pots, have the right to tell the Potter that the other pots are unwanted junk to be thrown away because we don’t want them! Do you and I really understand the implications of the Potter/clay relationship as it applies to Christian love? Do we “do unto other pots as we would have done to us?” We are all pots, none better than the other. We ought to then, love one another, and certainly, we ought to love the Potter above all things! It is to Him that we owe our very existence! Another of my favorite Potter/clay analogies is found in Ps 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” This is a veiled reference that becomes clear when we realize the Hebrew term for “delight,” is “to be pliable.” In other words, when we are pliable in the hands of the Lord, He shall give us the desires of our heart. One thing about moistened clay, it always responds obediently to the hands of the potter. That’s where you and I need to be. The more obedient we are, the more pliable we become in the hands of God as He continually works in us to conform us to what He created us to be. No need to fret about the desires of our hearts, if we are pliable in His hands He will get us to His God-planted desires. God is the Potter, we are the clay. Let us allow Him to have His way with us today. Reflect: What’s the most memorable thing you have made out of clay? How might the potter/clay analogy help you with any prejudices you might have? What is your responsibility in Ps 37:4? What is God’s responsibility? Pray: Father, help me to remember today that You are the Potter and I am the clay, and that behind every set of eyes is a soul that matters to You! Amen