A potter will hike through nature to find the clay needed to make his signature clay pottery for his trade. Clay is made from the all the ingredients in the soil. Over time pressure pulverizes the soil into fine particles, and water is added to make clay. The potter will dig the clay out of the earth, and then take a lump of clay and form it into something useful. He will take hours, even days, to get the right shape and thickness of the vessel. Just as the Lord used His hands to form man in his image.
“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.” Isaiah 64:8
God wants to mold us in His image. He wants us to be useful pots and vessels in spreading His word and ministering to the lost, for our time on Earth is nearing an end. The world has become a dark place; sin is running rampant; wrong is becoming right. This is the time that we need to be formed into the vessel God wants us to be so that we may have his spirit and knowledge to discern God's will and minister to the souls that will perish under false teachings and illusions that Satan is painting about religion.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20
The potter is seeking amendable and pliable clay for the knowledge He wants to pour into us. We must be willing to receive the in-filling of the Fruits of His Spirit. He will not use us if we have flaws in our vessels. Pottery is examined for crazing – fine hairline cracks. This crazing is so fine that you may not even see it with your human eye. Before it’s removed from the wheel, if it has any imperfections, the clay is punched down and started over. Just as Jesus does when we come to an altar of repentance. He takes our old vessel and breaks us into potsherds. He makes us into a new lump of clay and forms a new piece of His pottery.
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Sometimes in our walk with God, we get complacent without even realizing it is happening. We begin to have crazing in our pots. We become stagnant in our vessel. We should daily ask God to examine us and break us down for him to form us into the vessel that he needs us to be to reach the lost and dying in this sinful world and lead them to the cross of Calvary before it is too late.
“O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” Jeremiah 18:6
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