After All, We're Just Clay

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very one of us lives life yearning for or expecting it to be something beautiful, something     whole and unbroken. We will do whatever it takes to fight and cling to the beautiful image we have in our minds. We chip away at ourselves and other people to achieve our desires, molding and pinching our reality into the dreams we have envisioned.

God, however, has something to say about the way we do things. He says in Isaiah 55:8 that “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts.” In Jeremiah 18 we read the story of the potter. He sees things kind of the way we do; he’s looking to make something drop dead gorgeous – a flawless masterpiece. But things just get way out of control. His clay isn’t doing what his hands are telling it and pretty soon, his piece-de-resistance is shattered in pieces on the ground. That potter is a lot like us (we are made in his image), just wanting something beautiful. But we humans are a strange kind of clay. Sometimes the things we want put kinks in the potter’s plan, “marring” the vessel we were supposed to be. Our dreams don’t fit into the shape he had in mind, and in the moment our will clashes with his our life crumbles apart. The potter looks around in dismay, and we lie in pain, crushed and shattered on the ground. What can we do with those pieces of our life? Or better yet, what can God do when we let him pick us up, one piece at a time?

Mosaics are beautiful renditions of…brokenness? Enchanting our eyes with the jagged lines and crooked edges, our eyes follow each little piece until we finally get the complete picture. One shard at a time is carefully placed in just the right order to compose a work of art. Those pieces had to come from somewhere. Something had to be broken in order to achieve the full effect of a stunning mosaic. It’s a grace-filled example of how God sees us. It’s how we should see God’s handiwork in us. Psalm 51:17 reveals God’s delight in brokenness. “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” Maybe God likes mosaics. Maybe that’s why he breaks us. Our idea of beautiful isn’t what he wants. He wants us his way. If that means being broken a million times, then so be it.

Mosaics require a lot of commitment…and dedication. You don’t just pick up a handful of clay pieces and arrange them in a moment. First you have to decide what you want. Imagine God looking at the pieces of our life, puzzled, and trying to figure out how to arrange them into the most beautiful work possible. He’s settling on what pieces to use and what needs to be tossed out. What character qualities need to be reshaped, and what dreams he needs us to let go. Then he decides where to start. It’s often the place we least want work done. After that, he meticulously places the small tiles. Remember, a thousand years is like a few days to God. He could be arranging some pieces of our lives for years. Then the glue needs to set. God needs to see that we accept his plan, and aren’t going anywhere. The glossy finish needs to be applied - God’s grace is the finishing shine that completes the whole picture.