God the Potter

     This beautiful pottery planter was made by our son, Anthony.  I love the rich colors in the glaze and the whimsical spirals in the design.
     When Anthony fashioned this piece, he took a lump of clay which he then pressed, pounded, and rolled with his hands.  He intentionally added small amounts of water to make the clay more pliable so that he could shape and mold the clay as he desired.
     The first chapter of Genesis describes the creation of the Sun and the stars, the earth and the seas, the animals that creep on land and the fish that swim in the ocean deeps.  Most of the verses in Genesis 1 begin with “God said “Let there be,,, and there was....”  All of these things were created by God speaking them into being, right up until verse 26.

     Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
     So God created mankind in his own image,
  in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.  ~Genesis 1:26  

    Here is how God made man:

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.  ~Genesis 2:7

     God did not speak us into existence.  He formed us with His hands.  God took the time to put His hands in the dust; to pick up the clay and shape us in His image.  The Hebrew word translated “formed” means to press, mold, work with, fashion and shape like a potter.
     Isaiah captured this image when he said:

     “…O, Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand.”  ~Isaiah 64:8 

     And Paul said,

     “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  ~Ephesians 2:10

     We are God’s workmanship.  We are His work of art created in love for a relationship with Him.


I am flattered to say that this post was featured at:  Inspire Me Monday at Create With Joy!