“An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots; each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman’s bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
“After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. ‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.’
“The old woman smiled. ‘Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without your being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house’” (“The Cracked Pot”).
Paul quotes Jesus in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV), “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Because our God is perfect in every way, He has the power to make up for any weaknesses that we have. As you can see in the story above, this cracked pot had an imperfection and was ashamed because of it. He felt that he was of no use to his owner. She realized his flaw, and put it to good use. Look at the beauty that came out of it and how the owner used it to her advantage!
No matter your flaws, God can still use you! There are several examples in the Bible that show how God used many people with imperfections to serve Him. Always abound in the faith, and never leave home without Him!
