The Potter's Clay

I remember taking pottery in college. It was just a fun class to take at night with my friends. I only had one semester so I never got very good. In fact, I think I only got to throw anything on the wheel once or twice. The beginners were left to make stuff by rolling the clay and forming it into shapes and then baking it. I made bathtub, complete with ducky.

I learned a bit about clay though. Clay is dirt. When it's dry and compact it's HARD. But there's a secret to it. Add water and it becomes pliable. The more water you add, and the more pressure you add around it, the easier it is to shape it into cool things.

What an amazing illustration for our human condition. Adam was formed from the dust of the earth after all. Without God we can be pretty darned hard and difficult to shape. But just add the water of the Spirit and watch what God can do.

So what does that mean really? We can talk about being Christian until we're blue in the face. We can go to church night and day and be as religious as the next guy, but are we allowing God to change us? The shaping of the pot takes force from the outside. It's gentle pressure, but it does require change, internally and/or externally. But if we allow ourselves to be shaped, what beautiful results we get.

Ok, ok, so what does THAT mean? You have to believe that the Holy Spirit in you, and I'm assuming that you are already a Christian, can make changes in you. He is the water. He transforms from within when we mediate on God and soak in His presence. "Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still." Psalms 4:4. That attitude allows the Holy Spirit to do His work. The more we meditate and soak in Him, the more water is poured into our clay. At first, we're only pliable enough to make a goofy looking bathtub. But then we spend more time in His presence, asking for Him to be be our Friend and Guide, and we become soft under His hands and He can form and shape us into something we never knew was possible. How amazing is that?

Are you happy being a lump of hard clay, or do you want to be shaped into something extraordinary? There's something amazing beyond your comprehension waiting to be released inside of you and God is just waiting for you to ask. Have a seat on that potter's wheel and see what happens.