The Clay Jar

Have you ever worked with clay? The satisfaction of creating something out of a lump of clay as you mold and work with it until you create the vessel that fit the clay. I remember one year working with clay in art class. We each had to design our own vessel. It could be anything we wanted but we had to decide what we wanted to make. As we worked on our projects, the teacher would explain each step and had samples of what our vessels should look like at that particular stage. I don’t remember what I made, probably a small bowl or dish, but I do remember the excitement of going to class each week, and the anticipation of seeing the finished product. Since we each had created our own vessels they were all uniquely different.

But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

We are all the work of His hand. All. As I read this verse I thought about how we are each molded and shaped by the Father. He is the potter and we are the clay. He didn’t make a mistake when He created us. He knew exactly what He was doing. He knew when He created some with disabilities that they would bring glory to Him. They would be able to reach people that you or I wouldn’t be able to reach. I have two nephews, both have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I also have a sister-in-law with a host of disabilities. Some would say that they were mistakes. Some would say anyone with a disability was a mistake. They would be wrong. Then again some people would say that the ones who make such comments were the mistakes. But they too would be wrong.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

Genesis tells us that God created man in His likeness. Which means that everyone was created in His image and therefore not a mistake. God does not make mistakes. Can’t you see the love He poured into each person He created? People He knew when He created them, would bring glory and honor to Him just because of their disabilities and how they handled life. I don’t get to see my nephews that often. Nor do I get to see my sister-in-law every day. We all live in different states, the boys with their parents live in one state, my sister-in-law in another. But each time I do see them I am amazed at their outlook on life. The boys are typical young men, one is in high school and the other is in middle school. My how time flies! My sister-in-law lives life not letting her disabilities get in her way. Sure she has issues, but it is her outlook that blesses me when I do see her.

Have you ever stopped to wonder what it must have been like at the time of creation? I can remember the excitement I felt at each stage of working on my project for class and the satisfaction when it was working out the right way. The excitement I felt back then, pales in comparison to what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit must have felt when they decided to create man. Oh to have been there! The energy that must have been flowing.

God knew exactly what He was doing when He created us. There were no mistakes. Only special people who would impact the world as only they can. So when you see one of God’s special people, remember, they too are here for a purpose. To bring glory and honor to Him. God bless!