The Cracked Pot
THE CHOSEN VESSEL
The Master was searching for a vessel to use;
On the shelf there were many--which one would He choose?
Take me, cried the gold one, I'm shiny and bright,
I'm of great value and I do things just right.
My beauty and luster will outshine the rest
And for someone like You, Master, gold would be the best!
The Master passed on with no word at all;
He looked at a silver urn, narrow and tall;
I'll serve You, dear Master, I'll pour out Your wine
And I'll be at Your table whenever You dine,
My lines are so graceful, my carvings so true,
And my silver will always compliment You.
Unheeding the Master passed on to the brass,
It was widemouthed and shallow, and polished like glass.
Here! Here! cried the vessel, I know I will do,
Place me on Your table for all men to view.
Look at me, called the goblet of crystal so clear,
My transparency shows my contents so dear,
Though fragile am I, I will serve You with pride,
And I'm sure I'll be happy Your house to abide.
The Master came next to a vessel of wood,
Polished and carved, it solidly stood.
You may use me, dear Master, the wooden bowl said,
But I'd rather You used me for fruit, not for bread!
Then the Master looked down and saw a vessel of clay.
Empty and broken it helplessly lay.
No hope had the vessel that the Master might choose,
To cleanse and make whole, to fill and to use.
Ah! This is the vessel I've been hoping to find,
I will mend and use it and make it all Mine.
I need not the vessel with pride of its self;
Nor the one who is narrow to sit on the shelf;
Nor the one who is bigmouthed and shallow and loud;
Nor one who displays his contents so proud;
Not the one who thinks he can do all things just right;
But this plain earthy vessel filled with My power and might.
Then gently He lifted the vessel of clay.
Mended and cleansed it and filled it that day.
Spoke to it kindly. "There's work you must do,
Just pour out to others as I pour into you."
--Author Unknown
========================
A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith, he can counterfeit
hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit
humility.
Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole
which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and
while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water
at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the
cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on
daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in
his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its
accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor
cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was
able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the
water bearer one day by the stream.
"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load
because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to
your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work,
and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion
he said,
"As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful
flowers along the path."
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun
warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered
it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had
leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its
failure.
The bearer said to the pot,
"Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but
not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your
flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the
path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate
my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have
this beauty to grace his house."
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But if we
will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table.
In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste.
So as we seek ways to minister together, and as God calls you to the tasks
He has appointed for you, don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them,
and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of
beauty in His pathway.
Go out boldly, knowing that in our weakness we find His strength, and that
"In Him every one of God's promises is a Yes."
(Either by Stephanie Allen or sent in by her)
"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the
foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the
weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and
the base things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are
not, to bring to nothing the things that are." 1 Cor. 1:26-28
"I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions,
in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2
Cor. 12:10
"For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God.
For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God
toward you." 2 Cor. 13:4
To the Semitic mindset, a waterjug was like one's soul. For a woman to break
her water vessel would bring her great shame. It would be as if she broke
her own soul. She guarded her water vessel as if it were her very life. That
is why the fact that the Samaritan woman on the Book of John who left her
water jug at the well was so significant. It was a completely un-Se
No comments:
Post a Comment