“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker?  Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’  Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?' "

Isaiah 45:9

Yesterday I began reflecting upon Isaiah 45:9, noting how tempting it is for us to become the “arguing clay” when God isn’t acting in ways we understand or appreciate. Today I want to point out an implication in this text, something we see even more fully in light of Christ.

In the context of Isaiah, God is the potter and Israel is the clay. God is molding Israel according to his plans and purposes. What was once true of Israel is also true of us. God is the potter and we are the clay. He is in the process of shaping us, so that we might be everything he has created us to be.

In the New Testament book of Ephesians, we glimpse a moving picture of God’s grace. This grace not only saves us, but also remakes us. According to Ephesians 2:10, “[W]e are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” God is no amateur potter, but an artisan who has already begun to shape us into a masterpiece. God sees potential in us that we cannot grasp. He has hope for us far beyond our expectations. He will use us to do more than we imagine, if we allow him to work in and through us.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you think of yourself as God’s masterpiece, as a work of art that he’s perfecting? How is God shaping your life right now? Where is he smoothing rough edges? Where is he strengthening and polishing you?

PRAYER: Gracious God, what a marvel that I am your masterpiece. What a blessing! What a word of encouragement!

As you know, sometimes I don’t feel much like a masterpiece. I’m more like a lump of unformed clay. Yet the good news of the gospel is that, through Christ, I have been made new and am in the process of being perfected by you.

O Lord, help me to join you in this process. I don’t want to impede your good work in me. May I become all you have envisioned me to be in this life, even as I wait for the perfecting of your work in the life to come. Amen.