Yesterday we saw that God’s formation at creation was with purpose and for a purpose. Because Adam is an archetype, what we see God do with Adam is a model for us. God’s formation at creation was with purpose and for a purpose.

Notice how we see God, the creator forming us throughout scripture. Jot down Psalm 139, “for we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” We are made with purpose, God’s purpose as his creation.

Read Isaiah 60:21- Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.

Read Isaiah 64:8- Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

He is the potter and we are the clay. That we are formed by the hands of the Creator. Pause for a second. Think about how a potter forms the clay; works it, presses into it, smooths it out, can be gentle and intricate and other times firm and starts over. That’s what God is doing with you, forming you AND has a purpose for you.

Let’s flip over to John 15:1-2- “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

Garden imagery, where God, as Creator, Gardener, tends to his garden. He cuts away what is dead and prunes. You know the beautiful challenge of pruning is that you cut away branches that do have life, but it is for the purpose to give life to other branches that have greater fruit options. You don’t keep the branches that barely have fruit, you cut those away to give life to the branches that have more fruit options.

God’s purpose in being potter and gardener is for us to be molded and formed with a purpose and for a purpose.

How do we need to be formed by God? What edges in your life need to be smoothed out? What branches that are dead need to be cut away in your life? Or what branches that may have fruit, need to be cut away so more life can be given to more fruitful branches?
Abide by Aaron Williams