The Potter’s Hand

The readings today (See http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080212.cfm ), especially the first reading, reminds us that God is the potter and we are the clay.

The potter is in charge of the clay. His hands mould the clay to be what it was intended to be. The potter can do whatever he pleases with the clay. The potter is responsible to shape the clay and bring it back to track when it becomes deformed or far from what it is supposed to be.

God is the potter. We are the clay. He is in charge of our lives. He intends great things for us. He wants us to be like Jesus Christ, because that’s what we were made to be. We were built in the image and likeness of Christ. That’s the direction God takes us. He brings us back to track when we go astray, thus we may feel the force in his hand – not because he wants us to get hurt or he wants us to feel his power, but because he loves us and wants to bring us back on track. Problem is, unlike the clay who has no choice but to follow the potter’s hand, we have an option to cooperate and listen to God, or to insist our own way and break away from him.

Our actions always have consequences. If we resist the potter’s hands, we do not allow him to mould us, and we become far from what he intended us to be. What will happen to us then, when we are finished, when the time of the moulding is over? The gospel says that God will throw the wicked, those who are hard headed, and those who do not want to submit themselves to him, into the fiery furnace. Not because he hates us for not following Him, but because he gives us what we want. IF we constantly go against him, he will put us away from him because that’s what we want, based on how we live our lives on earth.

Do I let God be the potter in my life? Do I feel his hand shaping me? Do I allow myself to be shaped, or do I insist on having it my way? Am I willing to let him be the potter who controls my life?

Dear God,

Thank you for your love. Thank you for not giving up on us. Lord, thank you for your hand that gently forms me and moulds me to become the creation, the masterpiece you intended me to be. May I always be sensitive enough, especially when I feel the pressure of your hand. May my heart be willing to allow you to mould me, even if it may not always be what I want, because as I trust in you and allow you to mould me, I know I will be closer to being the masterpiece you created me to be. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-