God As The Potter

I am mindful of the times I have spent over a lump of clay (whether on a wheel, or shaping or molding or manipulating it into whatever you desire). There is something about being mindful and dreaming about what it could be in terms of its form and function. At the same time, there is also something beautiful in the hard work and craftsmanship that brings it about. In the end, the piece may be exactly what you envisioned; other times it may take a different shape as it is forming.  As we continue in our sermon series on Romans, chapter 9:19-29 brings us face-to-face with one of the most humbling questions in all of Scripture: Is God forming us, or are we forming ourselves and God is going along with it? Paul answer that with this truth: God is sovereign, and we are not. But if that is the case, Paul anticipates the question many of us might ask: “If God hardens whom He wills, then why does He still hold people accountable?” Do human beings have any real agency? Can we be blamed for rejecting Christ if no one can resist His will? Paul’s answer is not to solve every mystery to our satisfaction, but to remind us of our place before God. And to make his point, he asks, “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” While that may sound sharp, Paul is not shutting down honest wrestling; he is reminding us of everything that he has said prior about election, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. We are the clay, not the Potter. The clay does not tell the potter what he must make or how he must use what he has made. As we have been saying, salvation begins with God’s mercy, not human achievement. If God were only just, no one would be saved. But the wonder of Romans 9 is not that God judges sin, but that He shows mercy at all; and that He calls people from both Jews and Gentiles to belong to Him. And what is the result? Worship! Because the Potter is not cruel or careless, but holy, wise, patient, and merciful, He alone is worthy of our worship. And for all who trust in Christ, we can find our worshipful rest in this: the hands that shape us are the same hands that were pierced for us. Grace & Peace, Pastor Aaron