God is the potter, and we are the clay. When we begin to see the Lord and ourselves through this spiritual lens, it gives us insight into the creativity of God. Images described in the Bible are sometimes hard to understand, but even young students have formed Play-Doh. Whether a young sculptor in first grade or a master, you are intimately involved in shaping the clay because it is hands-on work.
When the Lord describes Himself as a potter, it gives an image of a creator directly working on us. We need to picture God as someone who molds and shapes us and sometimes chooses to remold us for our good.
God Speaks to Jeremiah Through the Potter
Jeremiah was a prophet of God, and to communicate to him what He was trying to do with the nation of Israel, the Lord gave him a message. Jeremiah 18:2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.[1]
In obedience, Jeremiah did what the Lord said, not knowing what the Lord wanted to convey to him. As the potter was working on the clay, it was not cooperating as he had hoped, and he had to smash it down and start over. God would use this object lesson to teach Israel about their relationship with Him. The Lord is the potter, and we are the clay, showing us there is a relationship between our lives and how He shapes us. The clay may not turn out the way the potter wants it to, but the potter has control to start over.
Repentance
Repentance is turning away from our sins and toward God. When God forgives us, we can begin again in many ways. God is the potter, and when we repent, we give the Lord permission to reform us and start again. A friend was part of a drug house and lived a life far from God. In God’s mercy, He called her to repent of her sin and place her faith in Him. When she did, she went through a significant transformation. She became the clay that God reformed and began to reshape into a different person. She became a different clay pot and walked out of the darkness into the light of Jesus.
As a recovered drug addict and successful nurse, she shares her testimony with others, telling them how the potter reshaped her life. If we are honest, the Lord must remold some places in our lives. We can choose to cooperate with the potter, letting Him mold us. It is not easy when the Lord remolds us, but His hands are loving and caring, like a Father holding a small child.
Do you think of yourself as stubborn clay? It is humbling to realize our place before God that we are the clay and He the potter. God has called us to give ourselves to Him so He can shape us in the image of Jesus.
To learn how God is the potter, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/exile
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Je 18:2–4). Tyndale House Publishers.