Before I became a Christian, and before God called me into ministry, I worked as a potter. I learned to do pottery by reading books, watching other potters, asking questions, and trying out the things I learned, making many mistakes, and trying again. I became proficient enough in this way that I developed a pottery business, selling my products wholesale to stores, and also retail through my own shop. I also taught pottery in a college of art.
After I became a Christian, however, God changed my vocation, and I stopped doing pottery. Interestingly enough, it was after I had stopped doing pottery that God taught me some of the most significant lessons from that area of my life - lessons that are important and that can encourage us in our walk of faith.
Clay is a material that occurs in great abundance in the earth. As I traveled in India, I took notice of the many places I passed where clay was dug from the earth and used to make bricks. In other places I would see people carrying large loads of water pots made from the red Indian clay. Here at home in the United States I own a piece of property which has a lot of clay. The clay sometimes makes it difficult to work the land because it is so hard.
Clay that is mixed with too many impurities such as gravel or organic matter can be virtually good for nothing. It is too hard to make good farm land and too contaminated to be used to make things like brick or tile or pots.
We learn from the Bible that the whole human race is so contaminated with sin that it is deserving of being totally abandoned by God as useless and good for nothing. The Reformation theologian John Calvin used the term "total depravity" to describe the condition of the human race. By that he meant that except for the special infusion of God's grace, the sin in the human heart would have been so totally contaminating that we would long ago have murderously destroyed ourselves and the whole human race. God's "common grace" puts a measure of goodness into every person, and keeps us from being as evil as we could possibly be. God does this to keep history going long enough to accomplish His redemptive purposes - long enough to shape some "vessels of honor," for His glory out of those whom he elects.
Clay containing a very small amount of organic impurities can be used for brick making in some places, but it often produces a soft brick that does not endure very long. It is easily worn away by the effects of weather.
Some clays are pure white. Porcelain is such a type. Some of the most beautiful pottery in history has been made from porcelain clay. Other clays may be brown or green or red. Stoneware clays are often brown and contain small amounts of iron. The iron is an impurity, which in the atmosphere of the kiln can melt and form dark spots on the surface of the vessels. Many potters have discovered ways to use the spots produced by iron as a decorative element in the finished product. Romans 8:28, tells us that God uses all things "...for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose."
To make the best pottery vessels, items of beauty and service, the clay must be pure and unadulterated by the kinds of contaminants that will damage or destroy the vessel during the various processes of manufacturing.
In different places it is possible to find relatively clean, uncontaminated clay. There are places near where I once lived in the State of Maine, where rivers run into the Atlantic Ocean. Where the rivers and the ocean meet there will be a section where the ocean tides rise and fall leaving the banks of the river exposed during the low tide.
I remember one time discovering that one of these river banks was almost pure, green clay. Several people, including myself, had gone exploring to see if we could find such a deposit, and when we found it, we determined to bring some back to the pottery studio to make pots.
We had brought some stout shovels with us in anticipation of this find, and so we began to dig. To our surprise, however, we discovered that the clay was so dense and hard that it was like a solid, rubber wall, so that even with great effort the shovels hardly made a dent in the clay river bank. It was as though the clay held on to itself tenaciously. It simply did not want to let go of any part of itself.
In a sense, that clay was much like the world of fallen human beings. We occur naturally in the world as sinners in bondage to the power of sin and death, and under the control of the evil one (I John 5:19). The devil does not want to let go of that which is his. How much effort and prayer and sacrifice is often necessary to pry loose one bit of human clay from the grip of the enemy of our souls!
After a great deal of work, we were able to cut loose a fair amount of the hard, dense, green clay. But certainly, in that state it would be virtually impossible to use. It was too hard and resistant (as sinners often are) to be shaped by any potter, no matter how skilled his hands might be.
Not only that, but as we pried large chunks of the clay from the river bank we discovered that sea creatures had taken up living in it. How they were able to penetrate the dense material is hard to know, but somehow they had managed to burrow themselves into a seemingly secure habitat.
These sea creatures had shells. There are a few things to note about shells - or pieces of shells - in clay. The first thing is that if they are left there, and the potter attempts to make some object with the clay on the potters wheel, the sharp edges of the shell will inevitably cut the hands of the potter. The second thing is that shells are made of material that expands and contracts at a different rate than the clay, so it will eventually exert a pressure within the clay that will break any vessel made with that clay. But because there were not too many such impurities in the clay, we knew that with a little work, we could remove them all, and have pure clay to work with - just as God knows that under the work of the Holy Spirit we too, can be salvaged and made pure and holy, ready to be made into a vessel for His glory.
In order to prepare the clay for use we first had to dry it out. As long as it retained the moisture that it had absorbed from the ocean and the river, it would remain too resistant and hard to be responsive and useful.
Water, of course, represents life, and the clay had a life of its own in its natural state, but it was a life, as I have said, filled with the wrong things. By allowing the clay to dry out, it would appear at first, to become even harder, but at the same time it became very vulnerable, because dry clay can easily be broken apart and pulverized into fine clay dust. When it is broken apart, it seems to inevitably break at the weakest points. Those weakest points are where the shells are found, so they can easily be removed.
Sometimes God allows a sinner to go through a similar kind of "drying out," when his or her life seems to be taken away by various pressures and trials that bring that one "to the end of himself," as it were. At that point they are more open - less resistant - perhaps even needy - thirsty - for the things that bring hope for new life. At that point also they are open to the work of the Holy Spirit Who brings the blessing of conviction leading to repentance and forgiveness (the removal of sin).
Once the clay has been thus cleansed and broken down to a fine powder, then the potter can mix it with just the right amount of new water which gives the clay a "new birth".
The amount of water is very important. Each molecule of clay must have a proper coating of moisture around it to make it glide properly in relation to all the other molecules of clay. The molecules must move in harmony with one another in a frictionless manner, much as believers must live with one another in love and unity. If there is too little water, some of the molecules of clay will have dry spots, and their contact with one another will be abrasive, causing a weakness in the body of the clay which will make formation of a vessel difficult or impossible. Under the hand of the potter, the dry clay may crack, and the vessel be spoiled.
If there is too much water, the clay will become mushy because the molecules of clay will be held too far apart to support one another. When the potter attempts to form the vessel, it will not have strength enough to hold together. The walls of the pot may sag under its own weight. The pot may collapse, or the intended form may be impossible to achieve. So too, with Christians, they must be closely related enough in selfless love to function as support to one another. The Bible speaks to Christians about many things that we are to be and do for one another to make the Body strong.
There is another process the clay must go through before it is ready to be used. This is the process called "wedging". Clay molecules are long thin finger-like forms, and when dry clay powder is mixed with water, they will lie in the mass of clay every which way. A clay vessel, however, in order to hold together, must have the molecules of clay lined up so that all the molecules are essentially parallel with one another - all going in the same direction.
Just so, in the Body of Christ, it is so important that the members all share the same vision and sense of purpose which the Lord has given to those He has anointed for leadership. There must be a oneness of mind in "the Mind of Christ." All must be working in the same direction. If some are pulling in a different way, the work of God will be hindered, weakened, and perhaps fail in that body. Ephesians 4:13 tells us that God's purpose is that we should "...all attain to the unity of the faith, to the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ."
Wedging is a process similar to what a baker does when he kneads bread dough. There is a special technique to wedging, and when it is done correctly it has the effect of bringing all the clay molecules into line with each other. It also causes any air bubbles in the clay to be worked from the inside to the outside, where they will be eliminated. The same is true for any residual impurities, such as small pieces of shell or stone that might have been overlooked previously.
It is important to remove air bubbles in the clay because later, when the pot is put into the kiln and fired, any remaining moisture in the clay will collect in such a bubble, causing the vessel to explode and be ruined. As already mentioned, shell particles or small stones will also cause the vessel to be spoiled because they expand and contract at different rates than the clay, and the vessel may crack or break.
So too, hidden sin in the life of a believer will eventually be found out, and the effect will be to spoil the usefulness of that one, and destroy his or her witness for Christ.
Once the potter has thoroughly prepared the clay, he is ready to take a lump of clay and put it on the potter's wheel to shape a special vessel.
Immediately upon putting the ball of clay on the wheel, the potter must center it. The whole ball of clay must be in line with the center of the wheel - just as we must be in the center of God's will, for, if we are not, like an off-center ball of clay will wobble and produce misshapen objects, so we will become misshapen in our Christian life - an object of ugliness rather than beauty; too thick on one side, too thin on the other, apt to be warped or broken when subjected to the heat of the kiln.
When I was teaching pottery in the college, many of the beginning students had difficulty learning how to center the clay. Often they became frustrated and gave up. They would attempt to make a vessel from the off-center lump of clay. We used to call the results of such efforts "dog dishes," because they were so lop-sided and uneven that if they were allowed to be finished (which they generally were not), they would be good for nothing but putting dog-food in.
To center a ball of clay, the potter will exert a considerable amount of pressure against the clay ball. forcing it to yield under his hands and come into a perfect roundness in line with the wheel's center.
We do not naturally move into the center of God's will, even though we may say we want to be there, and even though we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The temptations of the flesh, the corrupting influences of the world, and the deceitfulness and treachery of the devil are forces that are at work, even in believers, and God has to exert pressure through the Word, through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, through other believers, teachers and ministers - even through the ungodly at times - to bring us into line with His will.
Once the ball of clay is lined up, however, it is very easy for the skilled hands of the potter to form the vessel he chooses, drawing up the walls, giving it shape and character, grace and beauty, pushing the form in here, drawing it out there until he is satisfied with the final product.
How wonderful it would be if God could shape our lives as easily. Nevertheless, it is His goal that we should all be glorious vessels, shaped by His perfect skill, designed for His perfect use, molded by His loving hand.
That is not the end, however. Once the vessel has been shaped, it is taken off the potter's wheel, and set aside for a period to dry. Here the clay vessel begins a time of testing. The water that was so essential to its formation must now be evaporated out. The vessel shrinks somewhat because the water leaves and the molecules of clay tighten up and stick closer together, holding on to each other - just as God intends for believers to stick close together in the church, holding on to, and supporting each other as we sojourn through this fallen world that is "the valley of the shadow of death".
If the water leaves too quickly, or at an uneven rate, the vessel may crack and be spoiled.
Once it is thoroughly dry, the vessel is still not finished. At this point it is very brittle and must be handled carefully and gently. It cannot stand much pressure. If picked up in a wrong manner, it may break. Though it may have a handle, it cannot be picked up by that handle.
Now it must be carefully placed in the kiln for its first firing. A dramatic transformation takes place during this time of being subjected to the fire. This first fire will be a low temperature fire, about 1300-1700 degrees farenheit. At these temperatures the clay molecules will begin to soften and melt. They will begin to change from clay into a glass-like substance, and begin to fuse together. Where there were millions of finger-like clay molecules, there will begin to be a union of the particles into one. This union will not be complete until the final, much higher temperature firing.
Interestingly, some clays can take a much hotter fire than others. In fact, they must be fired at higher temperatures in order to become vitreous; that is, in order for the molecules to fuse together as they ought. Earthenware clays - the green and red varieties - can only stand low to moderate heat. If the fire gets too hot for them, they will begin to melt, and the vessel will be spoiled. Stoneware clays require a moderate to high temperature - about 2300 degrees farenheit. Pure white porcelain clays often can stand, and must have the hottest fires of all.
Similarly, there are those of us who, in our walk of faith, will collapse - will perhaps even lose our faith - if the testings and trials of our lives are too severe. Recall in John 6:66, the disciples who found Jesus' lesson too hard, and were no longer following Him. At the same time, however, there are some of us who are prepared as special vessels who must go through very hot fires of testing indeed. Yet God knows just how much we can stand, and it is He who is in control of the fire we are in. I Cor. 10:13 encourages us with these words: "There has no temptation (trial) taken you but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted (tried) beyond that ye are able, but will, with the temptation (trial) also provide a way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it." He does not turn off the heat, but he has prepared us with the right substance to be able to get through it successfully, and for His glory and our good.
When the kiln of the first firing reaches the desired temperature to begin the fusion process, the fire is stopped, the kiln is cooled, and the new vessels are taken out for glazing. At this point, however, the clay has been permanently and irrevocably changed, just as the work of saving grace changes us permanently and irrevocably, or the failure of faith permanently and irrevocably determines the eternal destiny of the unbelieving and unrepentant.
What comes out of the fire no longer has the properties which are characteristic of clay. Before this firing, if water were poured onto a dry clay vessel, the water would be reabsorbed, and the clay would become soft again. The water could cause it to dissolve into a blob of mud. After this firing, the clay has become more like stone. No amount of water would cause it to dissolve. The vessels are much harder than they were as dried clay vessels, but they are still delicate and easily broken if handled too roughly.
This is the fire of judgment, a fire that reveals even the tiniest bit of hidden, residual impurity. In this firing the pottery will be tested. Whatever condition is revealed by the fire is the state in which it will remain forever.
So too, will the hearts of men be tested, and all people will stand before the Almighty, All-glorious, All-consuming Fire who will reveal the secrets of men's hearts. They will be sealed forever, and destined either for eternal glory with the Father, or eternal damnation and separation.
The potter then takes various mixtures of natural minerals and other substances which have been compounded for use as glazes. They look like a thin slurry of mud or perhaps paint. He will pour some of these over the vessel, or dip the vessel into one or more of them. He may take a brush and paint some of these onto the vessel. The appearance is rather dull looking - hardly impressive at all, and it gives no clue at all as to the beauty and glory that it will have after it has gone through the final firing process and turned into beautiful colored, glass-like coatings.
When these have had time to dry, the potter then puts the vessels back into the kiln for that final firing. As the temperature rises, one can look inside the kiln and notice pretty soon a slight red glow as the walls of the kiln itself become hot. The shapes of pottery can be seen silhouetted against this red glow. Later, the color changes to orange and the vessels become nearly the same color. When the proper temperature is reached the inside of the kiln will glow with a brilliant yellow - almost white - heat, depending on the kind of clay being fired, and the pottery inside will be virtually indistinguishable from the fire itself. Everything will be swallowed up in the simple radiance of the intense heat.
I am reminded, as I write this, of the fact that Moses came down from Mt. Sinai one time, after having spent 40 days in the presence of the Lord. We are told that his face shone with the fading reflection of the glory of God. Like a pottery vessel in the presence of the fire of the kiln, Moses had stood in the presence of God - "a consuming fire." Yet he had not been consumed, but rather, because of God's grace, God's glory was reflected by his physical body, and he had glowed with the same radiance that came from God.
I am inclined to think that before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, the reason they did not know they were naked was because their bodies were clothed with that same light of the reflected glory of God. We were made, after all, to reflect that glory of God. Sin put out that light and revealed what was underneath the glory. In any case, we are to be like Him, so that when the world looks at us, they see Christ, just as Jesus said, when we see Him, we are seeing the Father. It is often when a Christian is going through the fire that he or she is most like Christ.
The first fire was the fire of testing and trial. If there were any air bubbles, or impurities that might ruin the pot, that is where it would be found out. But the vessel that came through the fire was ready to be adorned with beautiful colors.
The second fire is a fire of refining and beauty, for out of it comes the vessel for the Master's use. When the kiln is cooled, and opened, the vessels inside will be gloriously beautiful, just as the Potter intended them to be. The molecules of clay will be so well fused together that the vessel will now be one piece, dense and permanent, hardened to its final form and colors that will never change. Because the temperature has been just right, the potter can gently tap the edge of the vessel, and it will produce a beautiful, clear ring, like a bell, proving that the particles have fused into a single unity.
God takes us through the fires also. The fire of testing and trial to see whether faith will persevere; whether it will last; whether it is deep, or whether it is shallow. It tells whether the sin nature has been overcome by grace or not, whether our faith is real or false.
As Peter says, "Beloved do not be surprised at the fiery trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in Christ's sufferings, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed," I Pet. 4:12-13.
His ultimate purpose is to produce vessels of beauty that endure for eternity, and which have that clear bell-like ring - all of which gives glory to Him and holiness to us.
One further note about different types of clay. Some kinds of clay are fine for brick, but would be unsuitable for dinnerware. Some kinds of clay would be unsuitable for holding liquids because they cannot be fired hot enough to become non-porous. As I have already mentioned, some clays must be fired at lower temperatures than others. Often some low temperature clays and other natural substances can be mixed to make up the colored glazes that will be used on clays that are to be fired at higher temperatures.
The point is that, as the Bible says, there are vessels that have different purposes; some for more honorable uses, some for less honorable uses. Just so, God gives to each one of us His special calling and gifting for ministry and service. Yet all are for His purposes, and for His use, and for His glory.
Beloved, when you are going through those dry times when the water of life seems to have evaporated and left you in despair, or you are going through the fiery trials that test your faith; that tempt you to turn away from God, or that refine and perfect you, remember, He is the Potter and you are the clay, and He is forming you because he loves you, and has chosen you and called you to be a vessel of honor into which He can pour his life, and through which He can give to others the living water of eternal life in Jesus Christ!
© 1990 David H. Jinno
"Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay:
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
"Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence, humbly I bow.
"Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
"Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!"
