Story of a Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots; each hung on each end of a pole that 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?" "For the past two years, I have been able 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 for 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."

Our lives are quite similar to that cracked pot. We are imperfect and broken; and at times, our sins and failures can really discourage us so badly that we feel like worthless nobodies. We then long for a fresh start, a new beginning. And what do we do? We strive hard to do more good works, thinking that somehow those good works can compensate our past. That’s legalism; definitely not God’s way of personal revival. However, that’s just our human nature, isn’t it? It seems so natural for us to lapse back into legalism every now and again, thinking that that is the right way of achieving His acceptance and blessings once again.

God wants to send a revival into our hearts, but He doesn’t need a clean heart to do that. All He needs is a contrite heart. A contrite heart may be grieving as a result of sin’s consequences, but at the same time, it knows that the only way it can be revived and refreshed again is by going humbly to God’s throne of grace for only He can fill, satisfy and mend the broken heart.

We should perhaps quit worrying about what we’re not and just give God what we are. No matter how cracked up we are, I am convinced that He has the power to mend every single cracks we have, but that’s if we will let Him. Think about this- it is because we’re imperfect that God has something to work with. Plus, it is only through cracks that light can begin to shine through.