"Remember," the Potter cautioned
his students, "you must bring the clay up before you move it out.
Otherwise, it will collapse."
These
words, shared with me by a friend taking a pottery class, intrigued me. I had
to find out more. I asked my friend, Rudy, if he could expand upon the idea for
me. Rudy, considered by many to be a master potter, shared some stimulating
information.
"The
first and most important thing, when working with clay, is to be sure it is
centered. Then you want to bring it up before you start
stretching it to make it into a vessel."
I smiled as
I marveled at the newest details acquired in my quest towards understanding
what it means when the scriptures refer to God as the Potter (e.g. Isaiah
64:8). I've been working to put together the pieces of this puzzle; here is what I know so far:
The clay
must be centered. If we remember that we are the clay, then we understand that we
must be centered. The place we begin mandates where we will go and how our
lives are shaped. God, our potter, molds us starting with a center that focuses
on Him. If we move off center, we are going to affect the way we develop.
Once centered
and focused on God, it is time to move upward with Him. We allow God to shape
us by raising us up towards Himself. As we remain in His hands, we grow in
faith and understanding. Rising up towards Him strengthens us and prepares us
for the next step.
As we move
upward with God, He will begin to stretch us. He molds us and moves us to begin
to take shape in the ways He chooses. Like the clay pot, we can collapse if we
begin to stretch out before we have moved up. We may be excited to become what
God has planned for us to be. Yet if we move too quickly out without taking the
time to center and move upward with God, then we are susceptible to collapsing.
Our ministries overwhelm and become too much for us. We burn out. We become
frustrated. We collapse.
Another
element taken into consideration as the potter crafts his piece is the clay
itself. The wise potter knows that the clay has a mind of its own. The clay
will sometimes push back as the potter molds and shapes it. What the potter
intends to be a pitcher may end up a bowl if the clay is uncooperative. Yet, when the clay remains in the potter's
hands, it still becomes something beautiful.
So it is
with us. We too have minds of our own. God has a plan for us. He starts out
molding us with a specific shape in mind. Still we have our own ideas and make
our own decisions. This means that our lives may take a different shape than what God first planned for us. The good news is that, as long as we remain in the
Potter's hands, we may not become what He originally intended, but we will
become something beautiful.
