The Potter and the Clay

Yesterday, a brother passed me a portfolio of artists on the north coast of Taiwan (北海岸藝術家), mainly working with glass, stone and clay, including himself, a potter.

My mind couldn't help but flash back to the time when I was exploring pottery, keen to understand experientially the words of Isaiah (64:8):

ועתה יהוה אבינו אתה אנחנו החמר ואתה יצרנו ומעשׂה ידך כלנו׃

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.

耶和華啊，現在你仍是我們的父！我們是泥，你是窯匠；我們都是你手的工作。

Working with clay is not at all easy! It's messy and oftentimes, risky and therefore frustrating. That's when the piece doesn't turn out the way you want. But you go back to the wheel again, hoping afresh, as you watch the clay take form between your coaxing fingers. Sometimes you go along with the unintended effects, compromising your design , and get pleasant surprises.

God did not simply command man into existence, but lovingly fashioned him according to His design. Even now He shapes and moulds us, sometimes going along with our stubborn ways, allowing mistakes (not His doing but ours). Nonetheless, He always coaxes us back into form, working around our flaws ever so skillfully and patiently. Indeed we are His workmanship, His masterpiece, fearfully and wonderfully made (Eph 2:10; Ps 139:14).