By the Way: Christ is the Potter, and we are the clay

By Scott Raible on August 23, 2025.

At Medalta in Medicine Hat, the old kilns still stand where clay was shaped into vessels. Some emerged flawless, ready for homes and shelves. Others cracked in the fire, discarded in piles outside the factory. Visitors can still walk among those fragments – a haunting reminder of brokenness.

Isn’t that often how we see ourselves? Life’s heat exposes our cracks. Mistakes, losses, or wounds leave us feeling discarded – too broken for use, too damaged for love. We might imagine God only wants the perfect vessels.

But listen to Isaiah 43:1: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Our value is not in our perfection but in His claim upon us. We belong to Him because He loves us.

Christ is the Potter, and we are the clay. The Potter’s hands never abandon the work. He knows the texture of every lump, the weakness of every crack, yet He does not throw us aside. Instead, through His death and resurrection, He redeems our broken pieces. Where we see failure, He sees possibility. Where we see fragments, He sees a vessel of grace.

At Medalta, broken shards have been reimagined into mosaics and artwork. In Christ, our brokenness too can be reshaped into something beautiful. The Potter’s wheel spins with mercy, and His hands steady with love.

Perhaps today you feel like one of those discarded pots, tossed aside by life. Hear the truth: in Christ, you are not forgotten. You are not abandoned. You are not trash. You are called by name, claimed as His own, and reshaped by His love.

And how do you receive Christ’ love? You don’t need to fix your cracks first. You simply invite Him where you are. Open your heart, whisper His name, and trust His hands. The Potter will take you as you are, and in His love, you will find not rejection, but restoration.

“Lord Jesus, I come to You as I am. I bring my cracks, my failures, my brokenness. Thank You for loving me, for dying for me, and for calling me by name. I place my life in Your hands. Shape me, forgive me, I am Yours. Amen.”

Scott Raible has served as an ordained minister in Medicine Hat for the past twenty years, and started Christian radio in Medicine Hat with Alive 99.5 and was an announcer and music director with 93.7 Praise FM. Scott can be reached at scottraible@gmail.com

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