Let Us Remain Upon the Potter’s Wheel
Bible theologian Charles Spurgeon once said: “Come—you—and follow Christ—for the sake of what He can make out of—You.”
The apostle Peter was first a man who fished for a living. When Jesus approached Peter to be His disciple, He did not give Peter a new job; rather Jesus gave Peter a vocation—a calling.
Peter left the task that he had learned to do and immediately followed Jesus.
Peter did not say, “Let me run home and tell someone that I’m leaving.”
Peter did not pick up the fishing nets and pile them up for the night, thinking, “That way, the nets will be ready for my work tomorrow.”
Peter did not think about the consequences; Peter just listened to the voice of Jesus and immediately left the nets and followed Jesus (Mark 1: 18).
Peter was not some mostly quiet-mannered and meek man; Peter was brash, boisterous, and bold—willing to be used as God saw fit to use him.
Peter was a lot of things, but mostly, Peter was WILLING.
- What is God calling you to do today?
- How is God calling you to move?
- Where would God have you go, and to whom would God have you speak?
- What’s holding you back?
We are such weak vessels—clay in fact. We know this to be true because the Bible tells us so. Dirt. Made of the earth. Dust. Just a little piece of the entire world; yet God desires to use us to be His hands and feet to tell the world about His only Son Jesus.
We get to do that!
That’s right. We do!
But there’s a glitch; we must be willing. Like Peter, we are called by Jesus to come follow Him, & Like Peter, we face a decision: a YES or a NO.
We have a choice to obey.
As I sit thinking about the life-decisions we each face, decisions to be made when the Holy Spirit of God places something within our hearts. Instantaneously, we know—This is God speaking to me! Immediately, we are faced with a decision—Obey God or Disobey God’s calling.
Last night’s VBS class comes to mind this morning as my group of (mostly boys) second graders stood around the table molding, working with their lump of clay, pushing, and pulling their Play Dough into something they envisioned within their minds.
Their task was simple: “Create something God made, & Be creative.” Those were my instructions.
Jace (a pretty smart boy) held up his lump of clay, looked at me, and said, “I’m finished. Here’s my concrete block. God made this.”
HE WAS SO RIGHT!
GOD MADE THE LUMP OF CLAY. &
GOD MADE EVERY SINGLE THING THAT HE FASHIONS FROM THAT LUMP OF CLAY!
In the Old Testament, we read how the prophet Isaiah was led to write about this inner turmoil we face in giving ourselves to God with a wholehearted surrender. See with me what Isaiah wrote about these clay-made bodies we like to claim and say, ‘belong to us, so we’ll do as we please.’
“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—
An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!
Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?”
(Isaiah 45: 9)
Who are we to say, “NO” to God!
Yes, we read correct. Who are WE, this small little lump of clay, to say, “NO, GOD, I DON’T WANT TO!” or to say, “NO, GOD, NOT RIGHT NOW, BUT MAYBE LATER, WHEN I AM MORE EDUCATED, MORE READY, MORE SCRIPTURE-PREPARED, or MORE _______ (whatever we think must occur first).
Who are we to say, “WAIT JUST A MOMENT” to God!
Who are we to say, “MAYBE TOMORROW, BUT LET ME FIRST DO THIS OR THAT. GOD, I AM NOT SAYING—NO, BUT JUST A LITTLE LATER, GOD!”
Who are we—REALLY!
Isaiah helps us see who we really are & WHO GOD IS!
“I am the LORD, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other,
The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the LORD who does all these.”
(Isaiah 45: 5-7)
Standing there last night, listening to the chatter of eight-year-olds as they fashioned their clay into mystical beings, trees, streams, dogs, and so many other “created” objects, I was reminded of what God expects of me.
- Help us to remain upon the Potter’s wheel today as He fashions us into what He desires for us to be.
- Help us to not talk back to God.
- Help us to be pliable, willing, and silent.
- Help us to be ready, excited, and faithful.
- Help us to remember who is the POTTER and who is the clay.
Peter the fisherman, who laid down his fishing nets to follow Jesus, went on to become “preacher Peter” who led thousands of men & women to the salvation of God. This same Peter wrote these following words to help us remember how our actions are important & how our life-behavior—matters!
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’“
(1 Peter 1: 14-16)