When I consider my life and what God has done in it to this point in time I have to consider where have I been and where am I going. God has placed in my path many obstacles and stumbling blocks. I had to face these issues and get past them. God knew that I could handle everyone of them and He was always there when I could take no more so I could lean on Him. I have learned many lessons in my life in molding me and my shape. God has placed good people in my life for me to learn lessons from, and for them to teach me what God wanted me to know at that time. When I was young God placed teachers and youth leaders that all contributed to both raising me into a man and also getting me to where I am today. The teaching of all those teachers and friends has put the ingredients into me that God wanted there. They have been used by the potter on the wheel to shape me.
I have made clay pots on a wheel before. You have the straight tool to make grooves. The loop to just take off the excess clay chunks. There is the sponge that is used to add more water when the clay gets a little dry. I am sure you can imagine God there at the spinning wheel with these tools and molding us into the object and shape that He desires.
Read Jeremiah 18-1-6
When I consider these first two verses of the chapter I have to consider what is God trying to tell me. What does it say about all our lives and what does it say about the church and the nation. There are a lot of different things to consider for just a couple of verses and it may seem a little much when we look at the big picture. God tells me that we must observe His appointments. God tells us where the appointment is and also when to go. God does not usually hold back to much information or try to conceal what He is telling us. The reason that the message is blocked is because what we have in our life sin is blocking the signal. When we are living the way God has for us and doing God’s will the message will be loud and clear. Another way God’s message can be blocked is if we do not want to hear. When we are living the right life and doing God’s will the message will be loud and clear. The message could also be misinterpreted. We could be thinking that God wants us to be in right field and we are off looking in left field.
Read: Hosea 12:10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and have multiplied visions;
I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.
The message can sometimes get a little confusing. God makes the message clear to the person He is speaking. Let me explain this a little. If God is trying to get a carpenter to get the message then He will use terms that can be understood by a carpenter. I know that being in the military that we have a language all our own. We speak about our jobs to most civilians and the message and communication does not get through. God used this illustration and the potter to get the topic clear. Also to visually show the importance that God has total control as creator. We are truly the clay and the clay doesn’t tell the potter what shape or vessel it wants to be, NO the potter sees fit to create what he desires. When we allow God to do the same with us then we will be molded and designed into the vessel that God can use for His pleasure and for the work of the kingdom.
Read Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand
Read: Rom 9:21 does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
The Lord as creator is constantly making the world and the creation into the shape He desires. God makes us all in the vessels that he can use for the glory of the kingdom. Does this mean that all the vessels will be used for the same purpose? No, this would be a pretty boring world if all people were the same. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. God puts these all together and molds not only the individual but the church into the shape and vessel that can be used most efficiently. We so often think that our gifts are not important and that if we can not teach or preach or have some special or different talent that we can be of no use in the kingdom. God has made each individual to be that special vessel and He will determine where you fit and how you are to be used. This reminds of when I was recruiting teachers for the youth and I asked this one particular church member to be the 11-12th teacher. He was excited and told me he would pray about it. I was encouraged because God had placed this man in my path and also had been working on his heart to be ready for the challenge. The next week he came to me and said he would be teaching the 5-6th grade. Well I later discovered his wife convinced him to do this even though he knew that he didn’t belong in this teaching post; he did it because of pressure. We have to be very careful that when we make a decision to serve in ministry that we serve in the area that God puts us in and we do not just fill in a block because of things like pressure or even obligation. God can still use the obligated soul but He would rather use the vessel that was made for that purpose and function.
Consider the ingredients of Clay
I spent some time looking for this type of clay. The first ingredient for clay is water. Water is the most basic of all life. We have to have water to live we also have to have it to be able to survive. We can go without food for about 2 weeks as long as we have water. The body is made of 75% water. So without it we would soon dry up and wither away. Water is for baptism and a symbol of life in general.
The second ingredient in this type of clay is salt. Now I am sure that most know about salt. In the world salt is used as a seasoning and also to preserve just about anything. This really made me think about what we are in the world.
Read: Matt 5:13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men
God has placed us in the world to preserve it, but also to season it. When we are following the call that God has for us then we add season to life. People can tell that we are different, when we are able to get through those trials and still be smiling, they notice. I know that God also wants us to be able to preserve the world until He comes for the second time. He gave us that great commission in Matt 28:18-20.
Read Matt 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
The salt of the earth used to preserve the earth and keep doing the work until the Lord comes again. These are the focus of the church, to bear witness of what God has done in our lives and what He can do in the lives of those who except Him and make Him the Lord of their life.
Finally let’s consider flour. This makes up the 3 parts of clay. I consider flour to be all the other stuff that helps keep us together and complete our lives. The different trials and circumstances that come into our life and the people and events that comes in and out of our life. This is what makes our lives full and rich and helps to keep us together and not fall apart when things get tough.
Conclusion.
What does this all mean and how do I put it in to practice in my life. God is the creator and we are the creation. We must never put God at our level. I do not want a God that has my limits and frailties. I want that all powerful being that my little mind can not understand. I want that creator that is controlling my life and giving the needed direction and guidance. God is going to continue to add to us what we need and to trim off the junk that gives us a bad shape that can not be used for the glory in the kingdom. What we need to do is be willing to go when and where God tells us and to be close enough to Him and have that right relationship so when He speaks we hear.
