After the kids left, the Professor, Shane, and Shelly had to clean up the mess. There were pencils, erasers, and blocks of wood everywhere! Shelly said, “We have to pick everything up, and organize everything for our meeting next week.” Shane added, “That’s right! Next week we must cut out all the cars from the blocks of wood, and that will take a long time, so we need to be ready!”
Shane began picking up the pencils. The pencils were scattered over the entire room and even under the furniture. He found all the pencils except one of them, and then he picked up all the erasers. Meanwhile, Shelly was picking up all the blocks of wood, and giving the blocks to the Professor. The Professor had all the blocks of wood piled in his arms and was carrying the blocks of wood across the room when it happened! The Professor stepped on the one pencil that Shelly did not find! The pencil rolled under the Professor’s foot, and he fell! The blocks of wood flew to every corner of the room! The room was messier than when the kids had left! The Professor said, “Ooops!”
Shane and Shelly helped the Professor get up, and then they all picked up all the blocks of wood and piled them by the wall. Shelly said, “Next week we need to cut all the cars out of the blocks of wood. We need to set up a table for the saw.” The Professor and Shane got a folding table out of the storage room and set it up. After the table was set up, they piled all the blocks of wood on the table. Shane said, “We should sort the blocks of wood into groups.” So, they put all the sports cars in a pile, all the larger cars in a pile, all the pickup trucks in a pile, and all the large trucks and buses in a pile. Then they divided each of those piles into easy and difficult designs to cut out with the saw. The was a big job, but finally they were finished!
Everything was ready for the next meeting! The Professor, Shane and Shelly leaned against the table and relaxed. Then it happened! The table collapsed! The blocks of wood went flying in all directions! They were all mixed up again! The Professor said, “Ooops!”
They set the table up again and sorted all the blocks of wood again! They were careful not to tip over the table again! They were finally ready for the next meeting!
Early on Sunday morning the Professor got a phone call! The call was from the children’s Sunday School teacher. She was not feeling well and wondered if the Professor would teach the children in Sunday School that day? The Professor was glad to have the chance to teach the children.
Professor Ooops Lesson from the Bible:
The Professor met the children, Shelly, and Shane in the classroom, and told them about the adventure that they had had after the children had left on Wednesday night. He told them all the funny details of how he had dropped the blocks of wood and how the table had collapsed. The children laughed and laughed when the Professor described their mishaps!
The Professor then told the children how they had sorted the blocks of wood into the different piles, and he told them that they could learn more about God from this crazy activity.
Once again, we will be looking at how God compares Himself to a potter and compares believers to pottery.
In the Bible in II Timothy 2:20-21 it says:
In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and siler, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.
The first ‘sorting’ of believers that God does is to show the difference between those who only want to live for God half-heartedly and those who want to live for God with their whole heart. We will all struggle with sin as long as we are alive in this world, but the believer who wants to follow God with their whole heart will be disgusted with their sin and want to be free from it. When this believer sins, they talk to God about it and ask God to help them from continuing in that sin. The believer’s attitude toward sin determines which group they are in. Each of us should desire to be a special utensil used for honorable work in serving God!
In the Bible in Romans 12:6-11 it says:
In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
God makes each of us special. He has special abilities ‘built-in’ to each of us. We need to ask God how He want us to serve Him, and then serve Him with all the abilities He has given us! Do not be jealous of the gifts that He has given to others and wish that you were like them! Rejoice that God has made you special and serve Him in the way that He designed you to serve Him!
God continues to work as a potter in your life, as long as you are in this world. He is continually added to you and making you better and better as you follow Him. Some of His gifts and abilities develop over time. Keep following God with you whole heart, and you will be amazed where He will take you!