Shaped Like Clay

Bible Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11; Jeremiah 18:6

Tiago held a headless clay animal in his hand. "Mom!" he wailed. "I forgot to put my animal back in the container, and the clay got all hard and dry before I could finish, so now it doesn't have a head!"

"I'm sorry, Tiago," said Mom. "But it's too late to do anything about it now. It's time for bed."

"But my animal project is due tomorrow, and now all this work was for nothing!" Tiago groaned as he dropped the animal onto his dresser and crawled into bed.

Mom glanced at the Bible on Tiago's dresser. "Aren't you going to read a few verses before you go to sleep?" she asked. "I thought you did that every night."

Tiago shrugged. "I've been busy lately, and I don't understand it very well anyway." He pulled the covers up to his chin. "I think it'd be better to wait until I'm older so I can understand it."

Mom picked up the animal Tiago had made. "Did you know that we're a lot like clay?"

"We are?" asked Tiago.

Mom nodded. "The Bible compares us to clay that God shapes. When you shaped this, it took time, didn't it? You kept working with it until it looked good. God does that with us. One way He does that is through His Word--the Bible. Even though you don't understand everything, it helps you learn more about Jesus and what He did to save you. As you read and listen to God's truth in the Bible, He works in your heart and helps you learn to trust and obey Him so He can shape your life into something beautiful."

Tiago looked at the hardened clay his mom was holding. "He'll probably do a better job shaping me than I did with that animal, huh?"

"Yes," said Mom. "You can trust Him to shape you to be more like Jesus--and reading your Bible will help you understand more about what that looks like." Mom set down the animal and picked up Tiago's Bible. "So do you want to read a few verses now? You can let me know if you need help understanding them."

"Okay," said Tiago. "But don't go far away. I'll probably need help!"

–A.J. Schut

How About You?
Does the Bible seem too hard for you to understand? Even though you don't understand everything, it helps you learn more about who God is and what He's done for you. So spend time reading it each day, and ask other Christians--like parents, teachers, or pastors--to explain some of the things you find difficult. God will use it to shape you into the person He wants you to be.

Today's Key Verse:
My word…will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire. (NKJV) (Isaiah 55:11)

Today's Key Thought:
God shapes you through His Word