There is a craftsmen somewhere that designed and built the table that I sit at. The men that built this old farmhouse are dead I am sure but they built this house that is like few others. The computer we write this blog on, the food that Serena cooked for dinner tonight, and the work that I do with my hands can all be classified as a type of art. It may not hang in a gallery or be purchased by collectors but it is art just the same. Art is not defined by the one observing it but by the one that created it.
So it is with our God. He is an artist. The world may not appreciate what He uses as art supplies but it does not take away from His artistic nature. The Bible conveys this idea more than once...
Isaiah 64:8
And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand.
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand.
We are the clay; clay that is constantly being formed into the desire of the Potter's heart. The clay has no desires or purposes of its own. The clay is never responsible for the outcome of the Potter's work. And the Potter is never frustrated by the clay not becoming what He intends for it to be. For if the clay will not yield to the slight pressure of His hands in the forming process, He will only increase the pressure until the clay yields.
Every touch of the Potter's hand produces an effect in the clay. Every tool that He applies to the clay creates a new uniqueness special to that piece of clay. The touch and tools that the Potter uses are a mystery to the clay. Some touches are designed to add to the features, some touches are meant to remove imperfections; however, all of His touches produce beauty in the vessel He is creating.
At some point, the Potter forces the formed clay into the fiery kiln. This serves two purposes: to test the authenticity of His own work and to solidify the clay into what He desires it to be. Without the fire, the clay, when left to itself would degrade back into a lump of clay. It would fail to be a formed work of the Potter's hands and would no longer be able to be counted as art in His house.
The vessel of clay cannot see the majesty that the Potter has created in His processes. But, the Potter can. He can see all the intricacies of His work and all the beauty He has made. He stands back and witnesses the full value of the finished vessel. He sees the obstinate clay that did not want to yield to His touch has now become a showpiece of His own handiwork. And He chuckles as He remembers those early times as He worked, massaged, and caused life to spring forth from an otherwise worthless piece of clay.
He sees the finished work and calls it beautiful art. He calls it good. Every vessel He produces has a purpose and place. The clay vessel has no purpose; it is the purpose of the Potter manifesting in the clay. The clay never places itself where it thinks it should be; the Potter places the vessel where it is best served and best seen for what He desires.
The finished vessels are never relegated to the garage sale pile. Why would they be? He has poured His sweat, His blood, His time, and His life into that vessel. In fact, the smell of the clay is still on His hands. Why would He ever want to part with His own work?
You and I are clay. Our marriages are clay in His hands. Everything that we experience in our life and in our marriages is producing an effect that He will use for His purpose. We must yield ourselves, our marriages, and our spouses (both in covenant with us and prodigals alike) to the touch of the Potter. And as He is forming you and your spouse into one piece of clay, He knows the pressure needed to make you two inseperable.
Maybe you feel like He has increased the pressure on you? Or maybe you feel as though He has shoved you into the kiln? Either way, He is working on His clay. His eye and His hand has not left you. Everything that He does has purpose and meaning. You may not be able to see the beauty that He is creating through this but beauty will be the result. You may not be able to see the purpose in this but His purposes will be accomplished through it.
You were never meant to set the value and worth of the product He is creating out of you; that is for the Potter to establish. And He is still creating so He has not set your finished worth yet. So, stay in the center of the Potter's wheel!
Josh and Serena
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