What Works Best, Cracked or Uncracked?

A water bearer in India had two large pots, which he hung one on each end of a pole across his shoulders. One of the cruses had a crack in it while the other one was perfect. It was a long walk from the stream to the master’s house, but this one never failed to deliver a full portion. On the other hand, the cracked container would arrive sadly depleted. Of course, the perfect vessel was proud of his accomplishments, and the poor, cracked container felt ashamed and miserable that it could do only half of what it was made to do.

After two years of perceiving, he was a bitter failure, the damaged crock spoke to the water deliverer one day by the watercourse. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

“Why,” asked the surprised water carrier. “What are you ashamed of?”

What Can I Do?

 “Shallow, shallow, shallow,” That's what I have been muttering to myself. Sometimes I feel like we as on-line Christians are offering so little. The need is great and we are weak and small. How can we do more? How can I do more?
 I long to understand the cry of the human heart better and respond to it with more than religious platitude’s:  there are some deep, festering wounds that a band aid just won’t fix! 
I’m sure many of us long for the Holy Spirit to fill our cups to overflowing so that we have enough to share with a parched and dying world.  By, oh, those cups have to be cleansed first!
 Back to that word shallow. What have we allowed to accumulate inside our drinking vessels that are replacing the Living Water? I hardly think our Heavenly Guide will pour from His pure healing fountain into goblet s that are unclean, so what can we do in order to make sure our vessels are useable? 
First of all we must avail our self of time, God’s precious time,  and allow Him to show us what has stuck like invisible barnacles to the inside of our drinking receptacles. It sounds gross, but sin in all forms is yucky, and it needs to be removed. 
But maybe it isn’t sin per se that is keeping us from being a more effective witness; maybe it’s our humanity, our human weakness. Ah, the good Father in Heaven knows and understands, but we must reach out to Him time and time again. Let’s lift our cups (hearts) to Him early in the morning before the distractions of the day set in and let Him cleanse and fill us. 
Maybe we will never know if God has let us ‘spill’ a little blessing on someone throughout our day, but that’s okay. That’s not what really counts anyway. Let’s just make sure our cups are filled to overflowing with the pure water of life, so that if someone jostles us, or is thirsty we have something genuine to offer.


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