“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?
– Isaiah 45:9
As Christians, we know that God has made good works for each of His people to walk in. Those good works are similar to the way a potter shapes and adorns each pot to his liking. Some are quite plain. Some are elaborate. Some are short and fat, others tall and thin. We respect the creative work of a potter, even if we may not like everything he designs. He is the maker and can do as he pleases.
The potter in Nashville, IN, has a soft spot in my heart. My family vacationed there when I was young, and we would watch him spin and craft. We begged our parents for a potter’s wheel and got one, but none of us were any good at the craft.
God is just as free to create each of us to his liking. Some He may make into very beautiful pots and others for utility purposes. We are not free to ask for a remodel after our new birth. He will remake us exactly as He intends for the purposes He intends.
He makes some of us with gifts—and good works—that are easily seen and others with those that are more hidden. The Spirit tells us that, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose… the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable …that there may be no division in the body.” (1 Corinthians 12:18-25) Let us rejoice that the God of all Creation has made us a new creature, with good works to walk in!
The Potter's Freedom
“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?
– Isaiah 45:9
As Christians, we know that God has made good works for each of His people to walk in. Those good works are similar to the way a potter shapes and adorns each pot to his liking. Some are quite plain. Some are elaborate. Some are short and fat, others tall and thin. We respect the creative work of a potter, even if we may not like everything he designs. He is the maker and can do as he pleases.
The potter in Nashville, IN, has a soft spot in my heart. My family vacationed there when I was young, and we would watch him spin and craft. We begged our parents for a potter’s wheel and got one, but none of us were any good at the craft.
God is just as free to create each of us to his liking. Some He may make into very beautiful pots and others for utility purposes. We are not free to ask for a remodel after our new birth. He will remake us exactly as He intends for the purposes He intends.
He makes some of us with gifts—and good works—that are easily seen and others with those that are more hidden. The Spirit tells us that, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose… the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable …that there may be no division in the body.” (1 Corinthians 12:18-25) Let us rejoice that the God of all Creation has made us a new creature, with good works to walk in!