Celebrating
the freeing, supportive presence of God. So your experience of God may
become your experience of life. It is wonderful what God can do!
"Earthen Vessels"
Genesis 2:4b-5a, 1:26a, 27, 31
John 3: 16-17
July 10, 2005
Genesis 1 and 2 (selected)
In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of
the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up, God
said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness."
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male
and female he created them. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it
was very good.
John 3: 16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not
send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world
might be saved through him.
Let us pray. Where two or three are gathered in the name of the Lord, therein
will the Lord be present among us.
Meeting new people can be fun. New faces and new life experiences help to
expand our perspectives on living. I one sense, the more people we come to know,
the more we begin to understand about the mind of God. Each of us, as
individuals, is limited in our thinking and our understanding; but as we talk
and seek to understand each other, our minds broaden, and we begin to scratch
the surface of the mind of God.
The expansiveness of the human mind, the range of thoughts and ideas, are a
sampling of the comprehensive-ness of God for we are made in his likeness. No
one person, however, can totally exist with all the characteristics of God.
Rather, it takes each of us together to exemplify the expanse of God. We humans
fall short of the glory of God, but together the light of our goodness shines
ever so much brighter. Each shortcoming is strengthened by the gift of others.
We are told that we have been made in the image of God-in God's likeness. Yet
we were not made with the righteousness and purity found in the very nature of
God. Yes, we are made in God's image but we were not made perfect, but rather we
were made fully human-imperfect. As imperfect as we may be, we marvel and
rejoice that God called his creation of us-very good-and very valuable in God's
sight. We are imperfect, but more importantly, we are loved.
God's love for us is powerfully illustrated in the vent of the cross. God
freely gave his son that we might be freed from the guilty anxiety that would
bring us down-that would hinder our abundant living. Having a detrimental
opinion of someone else, also known as judging, can be equally destructive both
the judger and the judge. The writer of John believes that judging one another
can so interfere with our love of God and of one another, that he follows some
of the most beautiful words in the Scriptures found in John 3:16 with the
powerful words of 3:17, "God did not send the Son into the world to condemn
the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." If
Jesus refuses to condemn or judge, how much more ought we to decline this
activity?
The love of God can easily be drowned out in today's noise of activity and
lack of compassion. We who know for ourselves the profound love of God need now,
more than ever before, to speak of it, and more importantly, to live it out
within our families and within our community. How will anyone know of the love
of God unless it is shared by those who do? We may be imperfect in human nature,
but we are loved by the nature of God. We are loved by a Christ would have died
for you as an individual-even if you were the only one in need of it.
A water bear in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole
which he carried across his 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 walk from the stream to the 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 to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of
its accomplishments, perfect 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. 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 house.
Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full
value from your efforts."
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only
on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have
always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the
path. Every day as we walk back, you've watered them. For two years I have been
able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being
just the way you area, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."
The moral of this being - Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked
pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so
interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they
are, and look for the good in them. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not
be bent out of shape. Remember to appreciate all the different people in your
life!
I really like the closing line of this story - Blessings to all my crackpot
friends! Our imperfection is made perfect in the love and wisdom of the Father.
Amen.
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