After being saved by grace through faith, we are spared from eternal fire and judgment for our sins. We are born spiritually by the power of God. As children of God, we grow from infancy to maturity. Like malleable clay in the Potter’s hand, each of us will be shaped by God – for God’s use.
Greenware Unfired clay is often called greenware. Such clay can be broken down and remoulded by the potter because it has not yet undergone the permanent changes caused by firing in a kiln. The potter can add water to dried, unfired clay to restore it to a workable, plastic state. In pottery, this process is known as reclaiming or recycling clay.
Vessels of Clay in the Potter’s Hand 1. Clay in the potter’s hand is still soft and unfired. It has not yet passed through the kiln, so its shape has not been permanently set.
2. The Significance for our Spiritual Lives. While we are still on earth, God gives us many opportunities to yield to Him and obey Him. As long as Christians remain teachable and available – malleable and unfired – and yield to the Potter, they can be reshaped and restored, no matter how marred or broken they may be.
3. Failure is never final in the Potter’s hand. Once clay has been fired, its shape is permanently set. But while the clay remains in the Potter’s hands before firing, there is still an opportunity for it to be reshaped. Similarly, God continues to work in our lives, giving us opportunities to repent, yield to Him, and be transformed (Jeremiah 18:1–11).
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10).
To God be the glory!
Elder Yoong Yuen Soo
