When I was a pre-teen, I was introduced to ceramics. My sister-in-law’s mother had a ceramics shop in her garage with a kiln, and every so often, she would let me and Vivian (my sister-in-law’s sister) do ceramics. One of the things we did was pour liquid into a form, let it set, then remove the mold, scrape off the seams, then it would be dried in the kiln. After the drying, we could paint it however we wished. And it was fun! Vivian and I could pick the same exact object, and it would be unique only due to how we chose to paint our same exact object… On the other hand, pottery is hand formed from a lump of clay, on a potter’s wheel. The value of piece of pottery depends on the skill of the potter.
This comparison hit me while I was driving down the road.
How often as a Christian, do we consider ourselves “ceramic.” You’re a bowl, I’m a bowl, he’s a bowl, she’s a bowl… we are just decorated differently. But I think that we would be better served to think of ourselves as pottery. Each one of us hand crafted with love and great skill by the Master Potter. My value has nothing to do with your value. Your value has nothing to do with mine. Our value is solely dependent on the One who made us, and the fulfilling of the task we were created for.
Isaiah 64:8 (KJV) “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.”
