“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
Jeremiah 18:6 (ESV)
Earthenware pottery has been with humanity for millennia. It has produced items such as water jars, cooking vessels, decorations, and more. Pottery usually requires three things: a skilled potter, a revolving table, and clay. Water is used to form the clay when it becomes dry and hard. The Bible uses the analogy of Potter-clay with God-us on many occasions. Let us relate the process of making pottery to the Christian faith.
1. The plan of the potter – Before the potter begins a project, he has a plan, a design, and dimensions he desires. Before the potter starts, he has an end in mind – a goal and a purpose. He does not just go to the table without a plan. It is the same with our Divine Potter. God has a plan and a purpose for us – to be part of His Kingdom, be like Christ and spend eternity with Him. He wants us to be His children – imagine some clay becoming a child of the potter.
2. The skill of the potter – not everyone can make pots. It takes skill to make pots. The potter knows the texture of the clay, when to add water, and what to do when a mistake happens. Our God is like a very skilled potter. He knows us very well and knows what we need to become the pot that He wants us to be. And He never makes mistakes with us. There are times we do not know and understand what He is doing, but He never makes a mistake. He is the Master Potter. Whatever He designs us to be is the best thing we can ever be.
3. The potter gets dirty. The potter uses his hands and eyes to form the clay, and it involves being messy as he deals with it. Mud and water usually abound as the clay is formed. God is the same with us. He gets His hands ‘dirty’ as He deals with our sins, stubbornness, pride, greed, selfishness, etc. He got His hands dirty by being one of us, sharing our human nature and dying for us on the cross. He knows our pains and suffering well, as those are not foreign to Him. Jesus never sinned, but He took the punishment for our sins so we can be reconciled with the Father. Jesus got dirty – He was like any human except sin. Not only did He get dirty, He suffered, bled and died.
4. The clay does not resist – it is a passive material. It has no choice, no free will. But unlike the passive clay, we have free will. We can resist the Potter. We can walk away from the table and rebel against the Divine Potter. But to be truly useful in the Potter’s Hands, we must yield and surrender to his formation. It takes time and a lot of hard work to perfect the craft. Sometimes, it is not comfortable or to our liking. But we yield to the Potter even if, at times, we don’t understand what He is doing. We are to cooperate with the Master Potter, giving our complete trust to Him.
5. The clay needs to be heated and baked to be useful. For a formed clay pot to become useful, it needs to undergo heating and baking until there is no more moisture in the clay – it becomes strong and valuable. It can become an earthen jar that can hold litres of water or a cooking pot for the family’s meals. It is the same with us – for our character to be formed like Jesus, we must undergo testing and challenges to purify and become useful to the Master Potter. Through His purification, we can be helpful to His Kingdom in service and proclaiming the Gospel to others.
One of the worst things for a pot to happen is when it gets broken. Typically, with the right curing time and without any imperfection, an earthenware pot lasts a very long time. But things happen, and the jar or the pot can be broken. Usually, broken pottery is useless, thrown away and needs replacing. It cannot revert to being clay and start all over again. But that is one difference with our Divine Potter. He can fix broken pottery.
Many of us live broken and shattered lives, but with our Potter, we can become as good as new, as if we were never broken.
“In all things God can work for the good of those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:28
With God, there is no such thing as a permanent broken pottery. God can turn our brokenness for His greater honour and glory – as long as we let Him. Out of our brokenness, God can make us useful for the building of His Kingdom.
“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is shameful, he will be a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
2 Timothy 2:20-21 (ESV)
Lord, my Divine Potter, I am a lump of clay in Your hands. Form me as You wish. I will not resist. I am Yours.
- See related article: Restoring His Image and Likeness in Us, by Carlos Mantica
Top photo credit: Potter modeling ceramic pot from clay, photo by © Gladkov at Bigstock.com, Stock Photo ID: 296903161
Tom Caballes was a National Coordinator of the Lamb of God, a community of the Sword of the Spirit with seven branches located throughout New Zealand. Tom lived with his wife Mhel and their two daughters [with his son-in-law and grand-daughter] in Wellington, New Zealand.