Many times throughout the Bible, God, is known as the potter and we are His clay. He molds us and makes us into what He has destined for us. So why is it that so many times we try and clean ourselves or others up before we stand before cross. We mold ourselves, put ourselves in the furnace and glaze ourselves. We feel we need to be at our best before we come to God. We feel that if we can just clean up these little areas of our lives or convince people that they should clean up their life that eventually salvation will come to us or them. However Jesus does not want us that way. In fact that is the exact opposite. If we come to God as a finished piece of pottery that we have made ourselves, He has to shatter us, grind us down and make us back into clay so He can mold us again. He wants us to come as the lumps of clay he created us to be. He wants us to come to Him as we are. It is also a much less painful process for us. However we tend to do things backwards.
Throughout Jesus’ life He showed favor to those who most people believed He shouldn’t. In the Gospels there are two stories in particular that stick out to me. The first one is a story of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Jesus showed this woman compassion and favor when everyone else was ready to stone her to death. There is another story of a woman who was a known prostitute in the area. She comes to Jesus crying, broken, and asking for forgiveness. She pours a bottle of expensive perfume on His feet and he forgives her sins while everyone else is looking at her in disgust. Jesus didn't tell them to go quit sinning then come back. Instead he forgave there sins at that moment, and told them to go sin no more from this point on. Jesus still loves to bring the lost into his kingdom, no matter what their background or previous way of life. Through faith the lost can be forgiven and made new.
Challenge: Allow God to be the potter
In Christ
Stefan
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