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A
Broken Jar
· Jeremiah
29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
· So,
I’ve been reading this little devotional book called God Always Has A Plan B.
Besides the fact that I’m really enjoying reading it, I have also found some
pretty cool stories in it. This one is
about some jars, and I’d like to share it with you.
o
“Long ago, there were two
jars. Each was carried by a king’s water
bearer on opposite ends of a long pole.
One jar was perfectly made, with no cracks or chips. The other was unglazed earthenware with a
long, jagged crack at its base.
o
Daily, the water bearer would walk
to a river and fill both containers, then carry them to the king’s palace. Once inside, the first jar offered its full
contents into the king’s cistern. The
other had less to offer since most of its contents had leaked through the crack
during the journey.
o
One day, the despondent cracked
jar pleaded with the water bearer, “Please, sir, replace me. I am a failure. I spill so much that my offering cannot
compare to what the perfect jar brings. I’m ashamed!”
o
The water bearer smiled in
response. “Take a look at the hill we
climb each day,” he said. The jar
obeyed. All along the path bloomed beautiful
wildflowers. “I’ve been planting seeds
as I walk up this hill,” noted the water bearer. “And those flowers you see have grown from
your water, little jar. Flowers that
please the king and all his people.”
· There
are several “take aways” from this story.
o
Was the broken little jar useless?
§ No. And neither are any of us. We all have a purpose, and we are all made by
God.
§ Romans
9:20-21 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is
formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?’ “Does not
the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for
special purposes and some for common use?
§ Psalm
139:13-14 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s
womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are
wonderful, I know that full well.
o
Could the broken little jar be
useful on his own?
§ No. He needed the water bearer to carry him and
he needed the water bearer to plant the seeds.
§ Just
like the little broken jar, we need others to help us along. You can look at the water bearer as your
friends and family who sometimes have to carry us and sometimes need to plant
the seeds. Like Jonathan and David or
Daniel and his three friends, you can have close friends who not only stick by
you in hard times, but help you to pursue God’s plan for your life.
§ You can also look at the water bearer as God
who says:
· Joshua
1:5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I
will never leave you nor forsake you.
· Psalm
118:7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my
enemies.
· Hebrews
13:6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be
afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
· The
Lord is our helper.
o
And finally, do your job well with
whatever God has given you to work with.
Because the jar continued to be used by the waterbearer despite his
cracks and leaks, he helped to create a beautiful landscape for those all around
him. If you work faithfully, you will
one day see the flowers of faithfulness around you. Not because you were perfect, but because you
kept on working.
§ 2
Thessalonians 3:13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing
what is good.
§ Galatians
6:9 Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up.
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