Cracked and Broken

Psalm 2:9

"You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots."

That's literally what we did at the ladies day out at church today.  We smashed pots with a hammer.  It was an illustration of our brokenness.  And as I've sat here, thinking about it since, I've come to realize a few things I want to share with you.

We're all broken.  We're all messed up.  There is something wrong with all of us.  For some, it's just more apparent.  But let's be clear: we're all broken.

Proverbs 26:23

"Smooth words may hide a wicked heart, just as pretty glaze covers a clay pot."

Some of us just have more glaze covering us.

But there is one who can and will put us back together. He's the one that created us. Who loves us dearly.  Who holds us close and knows us intimately.

Isaiah 64:8

"And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand."

So we glued our pots back together.

Some of ours were more broken then others.  All had cracks.  None were perfect.

But those cracks, those imperfections, or in some cases, those big gaping holes are what God's glory and light shine through.  They are how people see Jesus in us.  They are how people see God's power in us and through us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.  This makes is clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves."

My pot is sitting on my nightstand.  It's missing at least half the pot.  But it's beautiful for a very simple reason: it speaks to the redeemed, to the restored.  It tells of what God can do with brokenness. And it has that much of a bigger place for God's light to shine through.

And I pray that my life is the same: that the cracks and holes freely allow God's love, power, and light to shine through.