Hope in the Potter

I found a blog today (Cheeseburger in Paradise -- the blog of a midwestern pastor) that posted a song about hope.

It reminds me of Isaiah 64:7-9.

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

The song is called FASHIONED IN THE CLAY (Copyright 1983 by Elmer Beals Jr.)

The end of the first verse and the chorus of the song are:

Look, now, at the potter whose wheel is spinning 'round,
Shaping with her hands the past and future from the ground:
Cups that will be filled and drunk, so warm in wintertime,
Plates and bowls for dinner served with candlelight and wine:

She believes, she believes,
By her work it's so easy to see
That the future is more than the following day,
It's fashioned securely in the clay

It's so important -- faith in the future. For a church to grow, the members must believe that the future will be better than the present. It is an essential hope. If we don't believe that, then we might as well lock the doors. "The future is more than the following day."

The next phrase, "It's fashioned security in the clay," holds meaning for me, too. If God is the potter, then the future is fashioned in the clay. He fashions his clay, us, for the future. The future depends on us. His plan for the future is through us.

The next verse is the farmer, planting seeds. He has hope that the seed will grow. We need the same faith in order to spread seed -- faith that the seed will grow, that God will provide the water and the sun. The couple having a baby has the same faith.

The potter and the clay -- we are the seed, we are the child, we are the clay in which the future is built. Our hope of success is the in the potter. He is trustworthy, and hope-worthy.