Two mugs and a small vase my middle son has created in his pottery class.

Creations 

For the past few years, my middle son has been making pottery. He’s produced some beautiful pieces, experimenting with different shapes and glazes. This photo shows only a few of the many bowls, vases, and cups he’s created. I’ve told him he should consider starting his own on-line shop to sell some of his work. Each piece is unique, and people love items that are one of a kind.

God as the Potter

It reminds me a lot about God’s work in us. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 64:8, “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”

A closer look at the same three pieces of pottery reveals a little more about them.

There’s a lot of forming and reforming to mold us into a God-glorifying shape. A fiery kiln is an element of the shape-preserving process. What we don’t often think about or see is that though the finished product might look beautiful from a distance, a closer look will reveal all of the flaws. Flaws that God thought important to leave in us. I’m not talking about sin. God wants to purge our lives of that. But what we’d consider weaknesses. Look again at these pieces and you’ll see wonky handles and a vase that can’t stand on its own. They’ve been through the fire, and it didn’t solve their “issues”. In fact, the only way to rid them of these flaws is to scrap the clay and start again. God doesn’t choose to do that with us. He allows these faults we wish to be rid of to stay because somehow, He’ll get greater glory from our lives through the imperfections.

The Example of the Blind Man

A good example of this is the blind man in the Gospel of John. The disciples ask Jesus who had sinned that the man was born blind? Was it the blind man himself, or his parents? Jesus tells them neither had sinned (to bring about this condition). The man was born with this condition because God will get more glory from his life that way. In this instance, Jesus takes away the man’s blindness. But only when it was time for it to  manifest Christ’s deity. The man lives for years without being able to see, until the Potter makes him whole.

Flaws for the Potter’s Use

Maybe there’s some weakness/flaw/condition in your life and you wonder if you’ve done something wrong that keeps God from removing it. We should always examine ourselves and see if that’s the case, but if you’ve prayed and asked God to take away your “thorn in the flesh” as Paul did, and He doesn’t, maybe He’s leaving it there because He will get more glory from your weakness than He ever can through your strengths. Perhaps it’s a health struggle, a character failing, or a talent you haven’t yet mastered. Whatever it may be, God wants every part of our lives to give Him glory. He wants to use our weaknesses because it shows His strength. It helps keep us dependent on Him so that we can take none of the credit and the glory all goes to Him.

In the writing life, I’m always being reminded of this. Every writer has an “Achilles’ heel” (often two or three) in their writing. For some, character development and pesky grammar rules are our downfall. For others, story structure and plot points confound us. We all struggle with something in the process, though we may improve in some of these areas. Personally, I’ll always need an editor to help me with my tense use–why, oh why, is this still a problem for me?

Patience with Others

Recognizing that God leaves weaknesses in us, should help us be more patient with the weaknesses and flaws in others too. Because maybe what we consider a lack of character in someone else is really God getting credit when they show improvement, or a loved one’s chronic illness is God’s witness to a medical team of His sustaining power and grace. We want to hide our imperfections. But God may want those things to be visible because His strength is manifested when people observe our failings.

How yielded are we when God asks us to put our vulnerabilities on display? Is there some flaw in our lives we should thank God for and ask Him to use it to give Him glory? It’s hard. But it’s our uniqueness that draws people closer to the Potter. That authenticity is often only achieved not by how perfect we look, but by how imperfect.