Devotion #5: Renegade Clay
When I was in high school, my senior year was full of electives to help the time pass in a more enjoyable way. I was at the point where I only needed a few credits to graduate, so signing up for “blow-off” classes seemed like a good reward for three years of diligent work. One of the classes I thought was going to be a breeze was pottery. I love playing with Play-Doh, so how hard could it be? I was very much wrong about the simplicity of this class. In my head, it would be to grab some clay, throw it on a spinning wheel, and make some vases and bowls.
While continuing our study through Romans, I can only chuckle at God’s Word, saying, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” (Romans 9:20-21). I first chuckle because of the audacity of truth that there are men who respond to the one and only holy Judge of the universe with a persecutory tone. The second chuckle I have learned is that as a potter, it seems as if the clay seemingly has a mind of its own if the potter does not properly guide the clay.
On a spinning wheel, there is an exact amount of pressure that a potter has to use in order to form the clay to exactly what the potter intends to make. Too little pressure and the clay does not turn out in the desired way; too little pressure and the entire piece can be ruined. Too often, I overlook that I am that clay that has a mind of its own. I believe I can go whichever way I desire, and God will catch up. Sin makes one stupid. The reality is our God does what He says. He accomplishes what He sets out to do. The difficulty is that we try to live like renegade clay and believe that we are like God. So, the strongest desire in our hearts is to have God meet our expectations.
If you take time and thumb through the Bible, find a time when someone is acting like a renegade piece of clay, and it is going well for them. Praise God that even when we are renegade pieces of clay, He “has endured with much patience” (Romans 9:22) and is not forceful in bringing us to Him. God is never One to just “throw it on the spinning wheel.” Because God is the God of His Word, He knows His plans will prevail and is slow, patient, and always guiding. Are there times He “starts over” and smashes a piece? Yes, the Bible tells us of examples, but there are many more examples of God’s graceful guiding hand where people who were the rebel clay are now God’s people. Pottery is difficult, and the God of the Bible is perfect at it. All we have to do is be willing to be clay that is moldable to His Word, will, and power.