The Potter and the clay part II

FAITH originated in GOD and GOD has no boundaries...that is why the difference between "faith 'in' GOD" and then "the faith 'OF' GOD" are a universe apart brethren, they are not equal.

Many had faith "in" Messiah, none had the faith “OF” MESSIAH!!!

Never forget that.

Messiah yielded to THE HAND OF THE POTTER and never resisted, not once. Oh that WE should have such a faith.

I am writing this as a follow up to “The Potter and the clay.” Someone made a comment and it brought out some things I wanted to pass along to you all.

She said in a comment:

“I have to remember that GOD loves me just the way I am, ...BUT ... HE wants me to be like JESUS. My earthen vessel has been shattered- cracked apart - and in my limited understanding, I have thought that repair / mending only requires a new understanding; after which, the vessel might hold water. But we are not talking about Ceramics 101 here - we are talking about THE MASTER POTTER touching - no , let's get more graphic - "throwing" the lump of clay (us) back on the wheel and creating HIS poeima. Too often, I have faith "in" GOD and not, the faith “of” GOD.”

As for this writer:

Yes, over and over and over again, it's back into the soaking bucket, then removed, put back on the wheel, spun around while the hands and fingers mold and dig deep into us, still more water (Holy Spirit) is added while we spin because we dry out in the process, then the trimming and removing things that obscure the perfect shape HE is after, the spinning goes on and we yield to HIM even more, not liking it one bit but, knowing it is for our good and HIS great pleasure.

HE takes HIS time and stops the wheel for a moment to pick out the foreign objects that HE sees, this is very painful because of the force used, the things that cannot be left in us and when they are picked out leave a big scar in us and the wheel starts again, more water, more spinning, shaping and molding with sharp tools that cut off the unrighteous parts as we cry out for mercy!!!

Finally HE stops and looks us over and after a few hours, the damp clay hardens to a leather hard, yet somewhat elastic stage, at which time decorative designs can be cut or etched into the clay surface. Once air-dried, the clay is very fragile and crumbles easily. When subjected to the heat of a kiln, the clay piece becomes hard and permanent, and is capable of maintaining its form interminably. Now it is time HE says we are ready for the 2,000 degree kiln. In we go to the intense fire to be hardened. He knows that without impurities like iron to make it possible to fire clay into a dense and permanent hardness, the work could not be done. {rather strange is it not? If it had no impurities it would not survive the fire}

But something happens inside the kiln and when we are taken out HE sees a crack, a hole, a bubble, a blemish or we got warped. We must have resisted the fire and it revealed the flaws. So we are taken and thrown against the wall and shattered, then ground to dust again!!!

Then it's back to the water to be added to make the clay mold-able again. And away we go. Will it ever end?

How many of us had a set of “Play Doh” when we were young and did this very same thing? Did we ever hear the clay talking back to us? Ever see get up and run away or protest the injustice of it all? No, that clay just said “have your way with me and I am glad I am not on the shelf with nobody to mold me anymore and I will be whatever you want me to be.”

It is very interesting to me that the after the clay is fired in the kiln, it comes out smaller than it was beforehand...heat removes impurities. When they are all gone, we will have no more need to be cast into a fire.

“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John 3:30

• If we never yield to The Potter, we will be left unfinished and put on “the shelf of the unfit”

I think when we stop resisting and surrender the process takes less time and is less painful.

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