Last night Hannah and I went to her church where the worship was beautiful, a baptism made me cry, and the sermon spoke straight to my heart. It was so intensely perfect that I took three pages of notes.
One point keeps circling through my mind. There is a purpose in God using us, broken people – his cracked pots – to store the treasure of the Gospel of Christ. When the container is cracked – people can see the contents, and when we are filled with the hope of Jesus, we reveal our greatest treasure.
I have to pause because I really want you to picture this in your mind. Can you see it?
I don’t know about you, but my pot is broken; there are some large cracks that have become gaping holes over the last years. I’m tempted to patch them up, or at least turn the side with the most brokenness to the wall, but if I do, the glory of God will not be revealed as fully in my life.
I need to sit with this for awhile and let it soak deeply into me.
Pastor Jason Meyer said that we should never be ashamed of our brokenness, because we are not ashamed of the Gospel.
What do you think? Can our brokenness allow Jesus to shine all the more brightly into the world?
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4: 7-10
If you would like to read/watch/listen to the complete sermon, “God’s Power in Cracked Pots,” you should be able to find it on the Bethlehem Baptist website soon.
Lisa
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September 16, 2013
Excellent word for today!!
September 16, 2013
Yes, and yes, and yes! This paradox is both our joy and our dread as believers. And herein (much to our dismay) lies the power of our ministry…allowing the broken, gaping, ragged, wounded, missing places to show; they ARE the glory, for they are Christ's canvas to showcase His restoration and grace. Here is where true healing begins – for us and for others.
On behalf of all of us who heave a sigh of relief at your transparency because it helps us afford our own transparency, thank you. I see you, and you are beautiful.
September 16, 2013
Wendy, my friend, thank you. This image is so powerful to me – in all of its raw beauty.
September 16, 2013
Liiiiisaaaaaaa. I needed to read this this morning, but I really would have preferred a post about, "Good news, if you wait long enough Jesus makes everything easy and not painful!"
😉
September 16, 2013
Or how about this, "If you spackle it up really quickly nobody will notice, and then if you can just pretend you aren't broken at all, everything will be okay." Right? Glad you liked it Emily.
September 16, 2013
love love love. i need to let this sink in. thanks lisa
September 16, 2013
It really is a beautiful image, isn't it. Good to hear from you, Shelley!
September 16, 2013
that is beautiful. and true.
September 16, 2013
Love this. True wisdom right here. I appreciate your honesty about life and adoption.
September 16, 2013
Thank you, Luann. I'm glad you found this helpful too – good stuff from Jason Meyer.
September 16, 2013
Thank you Lisa! Rachel – thank you for sharing this link. I pray that both of you have a day filled with blessings.
September 16, 2013
Thank you so much for this.
September 16, 2013
Thanks for sharing, Lisa! Definitely needed to read this today!
September 16, 2013
This definitely blessed me today. Thank you, Mrs. Qualls.
September 16, 2013
On the other hand, when Jesus heals some of those cracks with His love for us, others see our scars and are offered hope for the healing of their own brokenness, hope that life will be a blessing and they can then reach out to help others by being Christ's hands. Does this make any sense?
September 16, 2013
I can see that too, Mom, thanks for that thought. Love you.