Clay with Shards of Glass

Imagine the scene: A potter’s workshop. The clay is placed on the wheel, and the potter prepares to shape his work. This is no ordinary work; it is his life’s work. It must be perfect; otherwise, it will not serve the purpose for which it is intended.

He sits down and the wheel begins to turn. His loving hands begin shaping the formless mass, beauty begins to appear before his eyes, and suddenly… A sharp pain in his hand. Blood begins to mingle with the clay, but he cannot let go; he would ruin everything, and despite his pain, it is more important that the piece not lose its shape. At last he is able to stop, and he carefully removes a sharp shard of glass from the mass. He continues; no matter how many times he is wounded, he will not give up until his work is perfect.

Does this remind you of something or someone? Do you remember when the prophet said: “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.” Jer. 18:4

When we come into the hands of our Potter, we come filled with shards of glass. There are shards of various types and colors, some very attractive, but one thing they all have in common is that they wound. The shards in our lives are capable of wounding us, and worse still, we wound everyone around us. But God does not care how many times His hands bleed in His determination to shape us for His glory.

We are useless clay until we are touched by the Divine Artist. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Cor. 4:7 Even when we fall again and again, He comes after us. He rescues us from ourselves. He spares no effort and counts no material loss; He does not even withhold His life—He gives it as a ransom. His faithfulness knows no bounds. Such is our Savior.

On the day you see His wounded hands, reflect on whether it really was the nails that caused those wounds, or whether it was we who inflicted them. You need to be a work made ready for the purpose for which you were created. Let us acknowledge, as the prophet Isaiah did: “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.” Isa. 64:8.

Do not forget that you carry His blood within you; it is His blood that gives you life and identity. Let it show.