Owning Our Clayness

Good morning!

'How can what is made say about its maker,
“He didn’t make me”?(F)
How can what is formed
say about the one who formed it,
“He doesn’t understand what he’s doing”?' 

Have you ever heard women talk disparagingly about their hair?  If their hair is straight, they want it curly.  If it is curly, they want it straight.

Or, their legs:
"My legs are short and stubby...and just don't get me started on my hips!"
"My legs are long and gangly... and there IS no 'junk in my trunk'! "

Now, some of that smack ... for those of you who are uninitiated ... is just "girl talk".  It's women's ways of relating to one another, at least in the South.

But, we tend to get hyper-focused on our physical attributes, don't we?  Then, we look at others and complain, "Why wasn't I made like that?"

The same type of self-criticism and envy can occur when we consider our less visible personal traits, and wish for those of others.

Or, perhaps we look at another person and disdain how they are made, particularly if they offend us in some way.  It is sometimes very hard to see ourselves and others as God sees us/them.

To the prophet Jeremiah, God said - - -

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet unto the nations."

Jeremiah 1:5

Isn't this verse amazing?
In the first place, God knew Jeremiah as a soul before God put that soul into Jeremiah's human zygote, to grow inside his mother's belly.
And, at that time, before he even began to grow, God had a purpose for Jeremiah.

Don't you think that God provided everything Jeremiah needed to fulfill his calling?
Of course He did!
Don't you think God created him especially "tailor-made" for that calling?
Yes!

Do you think that Jeremiah was somehow...."super-special"?  That God is not as concerned about everyday people, like us?

God is equally concerned about us.  We serve a highly "intentional" God, who "declares the end from the beginning" (Isaiah 46:10).  Jeremiah was special only in that he answered God's call.  He chose to embrace God's purpose for his life, to use the tools he had been given.  He chose to "own his clayness".

When we rant and rail about one of our perceived inadequacies, inequities or "defects", we are slapping God's face ... saying that He does not know what He is doing.

Pretty impertinent of us, when you think about it.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul actually uses the analogy of a human body to describe the people of Jesus Christ, "The Body of Christ".  Oh, how I love this truth!  (1 Cor. 12:12-27)

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,^e some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.^f

14Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

18But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

22In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen,24while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

27All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 

Sometimes, we get this "vision" for our lives, and it is not from God.  If you are intended to be an ear, don't try to be a nose.  What God ordains, He will bring to pass.  So, if He calls you to it, He has equipped you for it.  He will enable you to, by drawing on His power, accomplish His purposes.

So, "embrace your clayness".  Then, go forward with confidence, knowing that you are His beloved child; and, fulfill your calling.  With your eyes on Him, doing what He has called you to do, you'll be so filled with joy that you'll forget all about your hips!

Dear Lord Jesus, with all my imperfections I offer you my praise this morning!  I thank you that you are able to, in my weaknesses, show Yourself strong and mighty!  It is such a wonder that You choose to work through Your imperfect children.  I am so honored and humbled for the opportunity to serve you today.  Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts I dwell on be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord!  For You are my strength, and my Redeemer!  (Ps. 19:14)  In Jesus' name, amen.