God… Our Magnificent Potter with Purpose!

My husband and I love when we come across a store that has been dedicated to selling pottery made by local artists. It doesn’t get any more original than that! We love looking at it all: plates, platters, bowls, coffee mugs (our fav!), etc…! The fresh, original designs are so beautiful and intriguing to us! We are always amazed at each artists’ skill level. Even though coffee mugs are our favorite pottery find, neither one us would enjoy the shop as much if it were filled with only mugs, but rather it’s the variety of items that the potter has made that makes the experience so enjoyable.
How reflective this is of life! So much so in fact, that the potter and clay relationship is used as an important illustration in the Bible. Our society today sends an urgent message of finding your identity in order to have a fulfilling life. But to find true fulfillment and our true identity, we must look to the one who fashioned us. “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work for you hand.” Isaiah 64:8
We are all the intentional work of His hands and when we take hold of this fact we find significant purpose! Looking to God as our Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, keeps us from glancing to our left or right to play the comparison game with our brothers and sisters in Christ to see how we measure up. It keeps us from categorizing our calling as “noble or common” but instead it causes us desire obedience and commitment to God Himself. When Jesus is the center of our focus and the driving force of all that we do, we find all the purpose in life that we could ever need and a beautiful partnership with other believers. As we realize that we have been pursued by our Heavenly Father, saved by His amazing grace, and made purposefully for Him, classification no longer matters!
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Not only to do just any random acts of good works, but works that He Himself prepared in advance for us to do! Our potter, God, has fashioned us with full intention to be who He created us to be for His glory!
God, help us to be moldable in your hands and rest joyously in who you have purposed for us to be!