Green Pastures
Weekly Devotional

Silly Putty

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Remember Silly Putty? It was great fun. You could squish it in your hands, shape it then ball it up and reshape it to whatever form you wanted it to take. It’s been a popular item for children for many years and is still available in stores. I found it great entertainment playing with the kids when they were small and watching them delight in the things they created.

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It all started in General Electric's New Haven, Connecticut Lab in 1943, where inventor James Wright was testing potential methods to create synthetic rubber. During one attempt, he mixed boric acid and silicone oil, creating a gooey, stretchy substance. Some scientist spotted the potential for filling in dull moments in the lab, so they added dye to the mix and had some fun inventing a great toy that lives on. But it wasn’t initially meant to be a toy. It could be used for a variety of things, even by Apollo astronauts to secure their tools in zero gravity.

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The malleability of Silly Putty reminds me of that scripture that speaks about being clay in the potter’s hands. Of course, God is the Potter, and we are the clay. “O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay; you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

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If you have seen a potter at his wheel, you can understand what scripture is telling us. I recognize that as a lump of human clay, I cannot really make myself to be anything worthwhile and lasting. I need shaping, and to be put through the fire of testing to be made solid, useful, enduring. As a shapeless, dull lump of raw material, in order to be useful, I need to submit to the hands of the Craftsman, God, to make of me what He desires.

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The Potter sits at the wheel, foot keeping the wheel turning at just the right speed and his hands gently caressing the wet mud, forming beauty out of a useless blob, as he has always done – a dip here, a rise there, until it is shaped to his liking.

The clay must remain malleable, able to be molded. Can you imagine how foolish it would be for the clay to suddenly rebel against the Potter?

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“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ (Isaiah 45:9)

“No! I don’t want to be an ordinary cup! I want to be a beautiful, ornamental bowl that people will admire!” So, because the clay is resisting, it is destroyed, and the Potter must begin again.

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Another passage reminds us of an important truth: “The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the LORD gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” (Jeremiah 18:5–6 )

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Although this is a specific reference to the nation of Israel, it applies well to us. This powerful imagery describes our lives in the hands of God, like clay in the potter’s hand. And the truth that God was telling them was that He is able to do whatever he desires with the clay in his hands. He can mold us and make us according to His design and purpose. The intent of this imagery is to cause us to desire for God to make and mold us into a noble instrument that is a display of His goodness and His glory. Whether we are speaking of nations or each person that God has created, the principle is the same. God is in control.

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Do we want to be moldable, available for Him to form and fashion us however He desires? If we are trusting in Him, surrendered to Him, He will shape us in a way that is right and glorifying to Himself and fulfilling for you and I.

Some of you who are closer to my age may remember this beautiful old hymn of surrender and dedication:

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.

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When the newly created piece of pottery has been hardened and glazed, the potter puts his special mark on it so everyone can know who created it. Seeing the name will indicate the value and treasure it, not just because of the beauty of the creation, but because of the renown of the One who was the Creator.

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“O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

 

B.Klassen beatrice.klassen@outlook,com

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