The Bowl's Purpose

A potter works with a lump of clay. She molds the shapeless form into a form that can be placed strategically in the middle of the bat, and then she begins to turn the wheel. Her hands expertly find the center of the ball of clay -- that point at which the friction of the clay in her hands is reduced. Here, she begins the process of skillfully opening up the clay to her hands, widening the bowl, beginning the formation of the finished product.

Her hands caress the clay, continuing to shape and mold the raw material into the object she dreams it will be. Once the bowl is before her, justified in her mind, she removes it from the bat and takes it through a process to harden the clay into pottery.

Glazes and paints complete the dream.

And then the test. She pours water into the bowl. What if it doesn't function as a bowl should? What if it leaks? What if it disintegrates? What if it doesn't fulfill the purpose for which is was made?

In Carder's book, Living our Faith, he says:

The Methodist emphasis upon “practical divinity” or holy living, therefore, recognizes the integral relationship between beliefs and behavior, faith and works. It is not a diminishing of the importance of beliefs; rather, it is a declaration of the importance of beliefs in shaping who we are and our relationship with God and the world. (p27)

There is a relationship between being shaped by grace and the works to which we are called. Our works do not earn us grace, but grace prepares us for works. If there are no works, then have we allowed grace to do its job?