Cracked Pots

One of the first retreats I ever led at Christ the King was entitled “Cracked Pots.”  We talked about how we are so often trying to hide our cracks but, in Christ they have a purpose.  Think about a pot and a candle.  If you put a lit candle in the pot you can’t see the light, but if you put a candle in a pot with cracks, the light shine through.  That is the way it is with us.  Our cracks are what tell the testimony of God’s love not our feigned perfection. 

I have had the pot from that retreat sitting on my desk for five years.  This afternoon I was reading Jeremiah and it made me think about that pot.  It says in Jeremiah that God said, “Like the clay in the Potter’s hand, so are you Israel.”  For the Israelites, God is encouraging repentance.  That the destruction coming due to their unfaithfulness could be recast/remodeled if only they would repent and turn back to the Lord.  What hope there is that thought.  God can remodel the mess I made of my own clay into something, albeit cracked, shines forth Christ’s light. 

So this day, may you shine brightly just as you are—cracked and beautiful!