If mud is dirt plus water, what is clay?

I was reading a blog profile and the question was asked: If mud is dirt plus water, what is clay?

This got me to thinking about my relationship with Jesus and how deep it goes.

So I decided to look up “clay” and came up with:

Clay, earth or soil that is plastic and tenacious when moist and that becomes permanently hard when baked or fired. Of widespread importance in industry, clays consist of a group of hydrous alumino-silicate minerals formed by the weathering of feldspathic rocks, such as granite. Individual mineral grains are microscopic in size and shaped like flakes. This makes their aggregate surface area much greater than their thickness and allows them to take up large amounts of water by adhesion, giving them plasticity and causing some varieties to swell. Common clay is a mixture of kaolin, or china clay (hydrated clay), and the fine powder of some feldspathic mineral that is anhydrous (without water) and not decomposed. Clays vary in plasticity, all being more or less malleable and capable of being molded into any form when moistened with water. The plastic clays are used for making pottery of all kinds, bricks and tiles, tobacco pipes, firebricks, and other products. The commoner varieties of clay and clay rocks are china clay, or kaolin; pipe clay, similar to kaolin, but containing a larger percentage of silica; potter's clay, not as pure as pipe clay; sculptor's clay, or modeling clay, a fine potter's clay, sometimes mixed with fine sand; brick clay, an admixture of clay and sand with some ferruginous (iron-containing) matter; fire clay, containing little or no lime, alkaline earth, or iron (which act as fluxes), and hence infusible or highly refractory; shale; loam; and marl.

It sounds a bit geekish but I got out of it that clay can be made into enduring useful objects; that are fit for the master’s use. Another thing, it is the size of the particle that make up clay, and they are microscopic. That means that they will feel like a very fine powder when rolled between the fingers while dirt on the other hand has a grainy feel to it.

When water is added to dirt, it makes mud that can be shaped, yet when it dries it falls apart. It cannot be put into the kiln and fired making it an enduring, useful object.

That reminded me of Luke 20:17-18

Luke 20:17-18

¹⁷And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
¹⁸Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

We many times take this passage to mean that Jesus will destroy the religious unrighteous. However I believe that it has a much deeper meaning. A meaning that will help each and every one of us grow closer to Jesus in a deeper, much more satisfying way.

We all talk about submitting our wills, lives, hopes and dreams to Jesus. It is our heartfelt desire to be led by Jesus, to be led by the hand if you will. Yet it is Jesus’ sincere desire that we come into “perfection”. To be able to be guided by His ways not led as a child is led.

Ephesians 4:13
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

Perfect in a New Testament sense means, “mature” not faultless or blameless. It does not mean that we are to be “flawless”. We all know that we are not without fault. We are human and as such we make mistakes and are “flawed”.

Now what does that have to do with clay?

Clay being made up of minute particles indicates that we are to allow ourselves to be ground to powder by Jesus.

Does that mean that I am to be crushed willy-nilly without regard to who I am or how I feel? My question to you would be; would this be a loving action of a loving God? Jesus knows how to mold and shape us. He also knows how to gently grind us in order that we will retain the beautiful integrity of self that Jesus has made us to be.

Being “ground to powder” is not a thing to be feared. It is a thing to be embraced, sought after and ultimately achieved on an individual level. The main thing here is “individual”. That is why:

2 Corinthians 10:12
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

We are unique on this Earth and in the Kingdom. There is not another you. That is why we are to allow Jesus to craft us because He knows who we are better that anyone els. What is made from the “powder” and how we become powder is unique and specific to you.

Trying to be like someone else departs from what Jesus wants us to be and become. Jesus wants us to be the best of who we are. Jesus crafted us with a unique personality, one that no one else can have. To try and be someone else would be a wrong.

I guess for myself it means a constant search for self. I came to Jesus in 1983. I tried to be what I was being taught. There was a round hole before me. I tried so hard to fit into it. What I have come to realize over the last few years that I am a square peg that is being forced to fit into a round hole. Much hurt, frustration and hopelessness has come about because of this.

It only has been because I have allowed Jesus to powder me that I have begun to slip into the “hole” that he has made me for. A unique niche made just for me.

Did Jesus remake me into something entirely different that what He created me to be? No! He has opened my spirit to accept who I am, not what others expect of me. Now I can live for Jesus more freely because I have allowed myself to step into my creation and serve Him in the way He has intended me to serve.

We are each uniquely gifted by Jesus, so take hope! Jesus loves you just the way you are and will help you to become who you really are.

May the peace, understanding and love of Jesus wash over you in waves of glory.