Professer Boaz: A Life of FaithSample

Being Moldable in Life and Vocation

Yet you, O LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)

This verse is a crucial reminder of the biblical understanding that human life is a work in progress. We are continually being shaped by God the Father. He is the potter, and we are the clay.

The people who heard the Prophet Isaiah knew exactly what he was talking about. The Hebrew word translated as clay, is the same word which was used of the “mortar” their forefathers had to shape, when they were enslaved to build the city for the Pharaoh in Egypt.

Sadly, they had to do this many, many times, in history - during biblical times and later.

Isaiah the Prophet, knowing this, transforms this bad picture into a good picture. He tells the fearful people that they should now consider themselves as the “clay or mortar,” which is being shaped by God, the Father. He is a city planner who is planning a good life for them (Isaiah 37:28). He is a good sociologist who is shaping them into a wholesome civilization (Isaiah 43:1). He is like the mother who is forming the people in His womb (Isaiah 44:2; 49:5).

The Prophet Isaiah warns them not to become brittle or let stones get into their social and spiritual being. All this will surely prevent them from being formed and shaped well (Isaiah 45:9).

What is the vocation of God? It is shaping and forming a person to be a wholesome person. It is shaping a people’s group - Israel and the Church, to be a wholesome community.

The Prophet Isaiah warns, “Do not resist this shaping! It is good for you!” (Paraphrase)

Besides, this should be the vocation of a person who seeks to imitate God.

A Prayer:

Lord, please let me remember, today and always, that You are the potter, the shaper, the planner, and I am the clay. And, please help me imitate You in my vocation.