But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. –Isaish 64:8/ESV

Picture one of those silly putty balls. Now make it a little denser and larger, about the size of a tennis ball.

In its best, most round shape, it can be used as sporting equipment. It could even be used as a weapon in a pinch to daze an adversary.

But let that same pliable and firm ball be stretched. Let it get poked, prodded, pulled and stretched. It’s no good to throw as a flat object.

Let it get flattened by a rolling pin and it seems to be good for nothing but to be set aside and showcased as a placemat.

Or is it?

The materials in this once bouncy and vibrant round sphere have not changed, only its shape. It is still firm and resilient. Only now, instead of energetically bouncing off other surfaces, it is able to catch and return other objects.

Youth is like the round sphere, bouncing from place to place. But with experience and time, the Master’s wisdom shapes that once bouncy ball into a flattened, yet venerable catapult; a mentor from which other young energetic souls can spend time with, then be sent out into the world.

The Christ-shaped life is in constant flux. It is shaped through molding and stretching depending on God’s needs from his servants. Christ showed us how to let God mold us by his unbearable and undeserved death on a cross so we wouldn’t have to feel the pain. His pain came from the deepest of Loves, Agape. Agape Love empowers us to reflect this same love to others when we allow God to shape us as He wills.

Amazing!