“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8 NIV

Where I live, there is a lot of clay in the dirt. The clay dirt is a rich reddish-brown color. We can pack the clay dirt to build a dam or let it line roadside ditches. There is enough clay to help hold back water, but not enough clay in the dirt to make pottery. It’s too bad because I think that the reddish clay would make a beautiful pot.

There is a potter in Seagrove, North Carolina that makes beautiful and unique clay pottery. He puts an imperfection, a hole, a crack, or some defect in each of his creations. His purpose is to remind all of us that we are the clay that God has formed and molded and yet, none is perfect. But when we are broken or imperfect, God’s light can shine more brightly through us to others.

This piece of pottery is called a Witness Crock. It is to remind us all, that each one of us, each human, is a beautiful creation, the work of God’s hand. And no matter our own brokenness,  no matter others’ flaws, no matter, we are to love one another. We are to treat each one we meet as the work of God’s hand. We are to be witnesses of God’s love and light to everyone we meet.

This change in perspective is imperative if we want to shine. The Apostle Paul had an imperfection, a “weakness” but God said to Him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And Paul declared, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” And let’s be honest, Paul shone!

When we are weak, God gives us strength. When we are broken, God gives us healing. When we are imperfect, God gives us righteousness through Jesus His Son. When we can’t shine, God gives us His light to shine to others. Let us boast of our weaknesses so that the power of God and Jesus might shine through us.

This week let’s simply try to shine! Shine God’s love through our brokenness, our cracks, and our imperfections so that others may see God in us.

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me this week as we shine in spite of our flaws.

Blessings and Light!