I am always in awe as I watch a talented potter with clay on a wheel. These particular potters are master craftsmen and their skills are amazing.

It will take awhile to both watch the video and read my post. The video is definitely worth the almost seven minutes of time. Hopefully my words are worth the time, too.

God has some beautiful parallels in the story of the potter and the clay. Having seen the presentation by Potter’s Field Ministries numerous times during the past 20 years, I’m always blown away by what He teaches me through it. While there are many lessons, these are the things that stood out to me as I watched the above video.

• Great repetitive pressure is required to form the clay into the desired vessel. The clay spins on the wheel and the potter continues to press and mold and shape it into a piece of pottery for a specific purpose.
• In order to be a useful vessel, that which weighs it down must be removed (the gunk inside) or stretched out to make it able to contain something. A pitcher is only functional when it has the ability to hold something which can be poured out for others. But if the inside were solid, there would be little purpose besides perhaps in being a door stop. One pot had a hole cut into it in order to attach a spout, making it lovelier in form and practical in purpose.
• When it comes time to create a beautiful design, this is neither quick, easy, or comfortable. It takes a very fine, focused cutting away. Or perhaps a beating. No, I’m not saying that God beats and cuts us. But life does. Sometimes the cuts are just on the surface, other times, they cut clear through. Is there anything more beautiful than a person who stays focused upon the Lord while weathering the storms of life? When they’re on the other side of the struggle, still in love with Jesus, radiating joy, it is very lovely to behold. Some vessels were covered by paint after being cut into, but when the excess is wiped away, beauty remains in the contrast of colors.

What analogies have you seen in the relationship between the potter and the clay and God and His children?