The Potter And The Clay

The Potter and the Clay

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father we are the clay, and you are our potter we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

What is that verse saying?

Jesus taught us to pray: "Our Father, who art in Heaven..." (Matthew 6:9) The Lord, God Almighty, is our Father! In our God we find the hope that each of His children hold deep in their heart: we shall not perish, but have everlasting life because Father God paid the ultimate price for our eternal life. (John 3:16) Notice that Jesus instructed us to pray “Our Father who art in Heaven” & not just Father who art in Heaven”. It would have been just as true if He had said Father but Jesus wanted to assure His disciples that God was a Father to them as well. This assurance also applies to Jesus’ followers today because we are His spiritual brothers & sisters! Isn’t that awesome! The Biblical image of God is one that represents Him as a loving Father. This is especially true in the teachings of Christ which refer to Him as "Father" no less than 160 times!

God the Father loves His children. In Jesus Christ, God showed all of His children that He loves us with an infinite, unimaginable amount of love. Our Savior paid that ultimate price to demonstrate the magnitude & the quality of His love! Yes, it is a great revelation & a great privilege to call our All-Powerful Lord God, "Father."

As we focus our thoughts today about the absolute fact that our God is also our "Father," let us take a moment to affirm in our own minds that our God, who is in Heaven, is also our own, personal Father! If it is true to you, that because of your personal relationship with Christ, God is your loving Father, then say the words to yourself silently in your mind: "God is my Father."

The apostle John also wrote that those who believe in & have faith in Christ are God’s children. John 1:12 tells us, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” Because of our relationship with Jesus we are God’s children!

If in your heart you know God is your Father, then strengthen your faith in this fact & speak that truth to yourself a couple more times: "God is my Father." "God is my Father." Think about that. "God is my Father!" What a blessing that is!

Don’t most parents want to shape, or mold, their children into the people they want them to be? Parents want their kids to be honest, righteous, people with Christian personalities & characteristics. The parent is the potter molding the children as the clay. God is our Father & we are His clay!

Now let’s dig into this message. Here we find the meat & potatoes of what it means that we are the children of the Infinite, Almighty God. We are putty in the hands of the only One qualified to shape us into who we should be! Our destiny is held in the hands of our Creator! He is the potter & we are the clay. Were we the ones who formed ourselves in our mother's womb? No, it was Father God. Were we the ones who gave us talents, wit, emotions, & resources? No, it was our Father God who did that. We are not the ones who directed our circumstances, our experiences, & the details of our relationships in our lives. Again, it was our Father God who did this. Father God is the One who sustains us, guides us, & provides for us every day. We cannot do these things for ourselves! He is the potter. We are a hopeless lump of clay when it comes to our own origin, our own destiny, & our own eternity. He is the Potter & we are the clay.

Give out Play-Doh & give them a few minutes to make something with it.

When the Play-Doh you are molding into an object doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to what do you do with it? Do you throw away the clump of Play-Doh or do you reimagine what you wanted it to be & put pressure on it to reform it into what you wanted?

God does the same thing when His clay doesn’t come out like He wanted. He takes the time to reimagine it & to mold it into what He wanted.

We are the work of Father God’s hands! Look at your hands. That's right, look at your own hands. What have your hands made, what have your hands done or made that God did not have a part in? Nothing. It is God's hands that we yield to for our origin, our destiny & our very being! God gave you the creative ability to make what you just made out of your Play-Doh clay.