Devotional Reflections

Jane L. Fryar

Devotional Reflections

“Think of it this way. . . .”

If you’ve ever heard (or said) those words, you know that comparisons can be great tools for learning and teaching. If

you’ve ever heard (or said) those words in a faith-focused conversation, you realize that the Bible uses dozens of helpful comparisons.

As we witness and teach, as we counsel and comfort, aswe serve and invite others to serve alongside us, we often draw upon biblical comparisons:

shepherds and sheep, storms and shelters, parents and family, to name just a few.

It’s no accident that the Bible so often calls upon the imagery of pottery and potters. For example:

O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

May God the Holy Spirit use this verse and verses like it in

this book to encourage and equip you—the work of his hands—for

larger, deeper, more joyful service for his people!

The mission of CTA is to glorify God by providing purposeful products that lift up and encourage

the body of Christ—because we love him.

by Jane L. Fryar

Copyright © 2017 CTA, Inc. 1625 Larkin Williams Rd.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of CTA, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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What Are You Making?

Does the clay say to him who forms it, “What are you making?” or “Your work has no handles”?

Isaiah 45:9

When it comes to art, especially pottery, every customer’s a critic. Is it blue? Then only red will do. Is it large? Then it won’t fit. Is it a teacup? Beautiful, but with two tweaks, it would have made a perfect coffee mug.

The critics ignore one obvious fact: all great artisans begin with the end in mind. The pottery they create did not turn blue accidentally. It started out as blue in the mind of the potter. It started out in the artisan’s mind this tall, this wide. It started out as a teacup—and specifically that!

The Bible tells us that in Eden, our Creator “formed the man of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7). The word formed here is the word commonly used in Old Testament times to describe a potter forming the clay.

The Lord’s formation process was not willy-nilly. It was not make-it-up-as-you-go-along. It was deliberate, careful, purposeful. In fact, before the creation of the world, the Lord had every detail clearly in mind.

To Adam and to each of his human creations since that day the Creator has said:

Thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Sadly though, each of God’s human creations from Adam onward has responded to the Lord’s creative claim by rebelling. The clay turns to the potter to say:

· What do you think you are making?

· This isn’t the life I had in mind.

· Blue is not a good color for me.

In perfect justice, our Creator could have thrown us, along with our misshapen attitudes and warped words of complaint, to the ground, shattering us to shards and walking away. But he did not.

Our rebellion did not take the divine Potter by surprise—not one little bit. In his eternal plan for our creation, the Creator had embedded a parallel plan for our restoration. His ultimate goal is our blessedness, our perfection, our complete holiness. Abundant life! Amazing, flawless beauty!

The path to our restoration took the Son of God from heaven’s glories to Bethlehem’s manger. It took him into gory suffering on Calvary’s shameful cross. It took him into death and back out of the tomb into resurrection.

And today, right now, the door to life—eternal, abundant life—stands open wide for all who trust in Jesus Christ and his saving work.

For now, we live as common clay pots. We are stained by sin. We are scuffed and chipped by life’s hard knocks. Most of us think of ourselves as nothing special.

But consider: In the ancient world, few people had access to banks. To keep precious stones or jewelry safe from thieves, owners would hide these items inside ordinary clay jars.

Similarly, our Creator has entrusted to us a treasure—the message of God’s love and redemption in Jesus Christ:

We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

I have called you by name,you are mine!

Isaiah 43:1

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Listening to the PotterSet aside 15–20 minutes to read and think about 2 Corinthians 4:1–18. Keep in mind the custom described in the devotion on page 7.

Now contemplate the ways in which you serve the Lord Jesus by serving his people. How do Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4 apply to you? Jot down the thoughts that come to mind. Wait a day or two. Then revisit what you have written. What would you like to say to Jesus about it?

Firebrick or Teapot?Each piece a potter creates has its own unique purpose. You can’t build a wall with a thousand teapots, lovely though the teapots may be.

Think about your service for God’s people and his creating you for that service. In what ways are you uniquely shaped, matchlessly formed for the purposes your Creator has had eternally in mind?

What humility and what confidence does this give you?

Think about someone who serves alongside you in the church. In what ways is that person uniquely shaped for God’s eternal purposes? How might you encourage that person in the service Jesus has given him or her?

You are chosen, precious, and beloved in Jesus, your Savior, and uniquely shaped for his purposes.

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Fire Brick or Teapot?Each piece a potter creates has its own unique purpose. You can’t build a wall with a thousand teapots, lovely though the teapots may be.

· Think about your service for God’s people and his creating you for that service. In what ways are you uniquely shaped, matchlessly formed for the purposes your Creator has had eternally in mind?

· What humility and what confidence does this give you?

· Think about someone who serves alongside you in the church. In what ways is that person uniquely shaped for God’s eternal purposes? How might you encourage that person in the service Jesus has given him or her?

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:5–6

11

You, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

Colossians 1:21–22 [God]

chose us in [Christ] before

the foundation of the world, that

we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus

Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:4–6

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O Lord, You are the Potter, the Artisan. You are Craftsman and Creator.

I am clay, drawn from dust, from the dust to which I shall one day return.

Even so, I am your creature, your creation, your work of art.

And I am your servant, shaped to serve you by serving those around me.

Forgive me for questioning your wisdom, your artistry, your love, your skill.

Shape me, mold me, fit me for your purposes as you love your people through me.

Amen.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. . . .Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Psalm 139:13–24