True to Form

Does the clay say to the potter, "What are you making?" Isaiah 45:14

Clay is humble earth, the ground beneath our feet.

But if it could speak, it might say that it feels tread-upon, stepped on and overlooked...

just like we might feel sometimes.

"Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground." Gen 2:7

Clay is sticky earth, varying in color, and can be molded into various vessels of use.

And if it could wonder, it might ask how it could possibly be made into something special

or something of use... just like we might wonder of ourselves.

It may even want to ask about why it comes in that color or that texture,

or why it can't be like "that other clay over there" or made into "a shape like that vessel,"

just like we might wonder of ourselves sometimes.

Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Gen 2:7

And if clay noticed that God took the time to touch dust, add His tears, hold the mess in His hands and breathe into it, clay might be...speechless!

But yet, clay (and we) become audacious and critical: "What are you making here, God? I feel like a mess!"

We with our clay-breath speak back to the Creator...words of worry...words that are not His.

It's just formation-fear.

We have to go no further than His Words to be reminded:

You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8

And as living clay, we can remember: the Potter is shaping us with our gifts, our challenges, and our purpose.

But formation-fear is real.

I had heard it in a sermon and became more than a little uncomfortable:

"When praying for your children, pray more for formation than for protection."

While you and I both squirm at the notion of formation and discomfort or outright pain (for those we love and for ourselves), M. Robert Mulholland Jr. places a hand on the shoulder and calms us (or scares us into stillness):

"Spiritual formation is the process of being formed in the image of Christ for the sake of others."

It's echoed in a message by Mahatma Gandhi who had a wheel for spinning cotton vs. a wheel for spinning clay: "The message of the spinning wheel is much wider than its circumference. Its message is one of simplicity, service of mankind, living so as not to hurt others..."

No matter who or where we are, the formation process promises some dizzying spins on the Potter's wheel.

But Mulholland, Jr. brings the spin to a temporary halt: "Spiritual formation is the great reversal: from being the subject who controls all other things to being the person who is shaped by the presence, purpose and power of God in all things."

No wonder it can leave us queasy but awed!

Through the spinning, we truly need Words to tether us: "...even there Your hand will guide me, and Your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139

Through the formation, we need Words of truth to reform us: "For You formed my inward parts;

You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Psalm 139:13-14

Inward parts.

In-Word parts.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made. John 1

All of our parts are made of the Word, by the Word, for the Word.

We have this treasure in (our) earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. 2 Cor 4:7

We are created to carry on and carry forth the Word.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:1

We were made for this from the Beginning of Time.

And as living words, we must know His Word and be In His Word to Be His Word.

Living clay holding the living Word...

Guaranteed, it will take plenty to soften, shape and sculpt us for the job at (His) hand.

It will challenge all of our rigidities,

It will stretch us beyond any comfort zones,

It will soften the hard-hearted parts of us,

and it will extend us further than we dare imagine.

But we can know this for certain:

If we harden and dry prematurely to the process of formation with its inconvenience, discomfort or pain,

we seal ourselves off to the possibility

of holding a deeper and wider Love,

of expanding our capacity to include and embrace all of creation,

of fully-filling ourselves with the Potter, the Form-er of our Being, and the Goodness He has for us and others.

Fortunately, even with our cracks, chips, vulnerabilities and breakage,

the Potter can piece us together and make Good use of all His clay.

C.S. Lewis smiles:

“This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there’s a rumor going around the shop

that some of us are someday going to come to life.”