Thought for the Month

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

Pottery is a very skilled job, one I was not suited to when I tried it last year. Others in my family group seemed to be much better. Our heavenly Father is the master potter and hence able to mould us to be the right shape and useful for his plans and purposes for us. But we have to learn to co‑operate with his plans and purposes for us knowing we are under his loving care.

In a traditional dinner service there are many pieces–plates of different sizes, bowls for soups, sugar and cereals as well as jugs for milk, sauces and gravy and probably a tea pot or a coffee pot beside. Most of them are functional for daily use or Sundays and special occasions. Some more for display. There is much more that can be done with clay for everyday use although some pottery is really ‘objets d’art.’ Our heavenly Father can make each one of his children to be functional in His service.

Our characters are developed every day to be moulded to be like our lord and master Jesus. Like making a pot can seem a messy process. You have to take out a lump of clay that’s rather tacky, throw it onto the wheel, water is added to help shape the clay, and then bear down on the middle of the lump of clay, but not too far down with the occasional muddy drop of water spitting out of the sides. Eventually a pot will emerge as do a pair of dirty hands. The process may seem messy to us as our characters are developed. But just as God made our planet beautiful to our eyes something potentially beautiful and functional will result and all the moulding and mess will be worth it.