A man carried water back to his house everyday in two pots, which hung on a pole at either end that he bore across his shoulders. One of the pots seemed perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. The other had a crack in it and would always leak half the water out. The prefect pot was proud of its accomplishments but the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection and miserable that it could do only half of what it had been made to do. Finally, the cracked pot spoke to the man; “I am ashamed of myself and I want to apologize to you.” “Why, what are you ashamed of?”, asked the man. “I am 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 pot said. The man felt sorry for the old cracked pot and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” Once back at the house the man asked 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 is because I have always known about your flaw and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path and everyday while we walk back from the stream, you watered them. Without you being just the way you are, we would not have these beautiful flowers.” You ever feel like that cracked pot? I know I do. My name is Jonathan and I was the victim of a drunk driver, when I was four. I know what it is like to fall short in nearly everything. We’ve all found ourselves, at one time or another, in a situation that seemingly didn’t have an up side. It leads you to ask some very hard and very sensitive questions. Why would God allow something so horrible to happen, could His hand really be in such tragedy? I am a firm believer that no matter who you are or what you’ve done you’re going to find, in the pages of your Bible, someone that is just like you. You might think, how could this Book that is 1000s of years old have anything to do with me? I’d like you to acquaint yourself with Mephibosheth: II Samuel 4:4, 9:1-13 & 21:1-7 tells his story. Like me, he was handicapped and like me it was somebody else’s fault. God’s Word is so great! Here we are in 2010, separated by time, culture and a lost world but yet there I am. God went to the trouble to put Mephibosheth in the Book for someone like me. As I began to learn more about Mephibosheth, I saw that we had more than just a disability in common. In fact by learning about him, God taught me about me. And it will work just that way for you if you let it. It was God’s providence that had Mephibosheth crippled. That sounds strange, I know, until you see the bigger picture. King Saul was Mephibosheth’s grandfather but because of Saul’s sin “the shadow of death” came to rest on the house of the royal family. So much so, it prompts David to ask; “Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Mephibosheth’s being crippled saved his life. While death was going after an out in the open former royal family, Mephibosheth was confined to the trash heap he called home. Unlike the rest, he couldn’t run, not that it did them any good and in some measure almost certainly made them bigger targets for the death that was upon the house. That handicap saved his life again when Saul’s enemies came back for retribution. It was the mercy King David had on him that kept the Gibeonites from executing him for the crimes of his grandfather, King Saul. In addition, the relationship Mephibosheth had with the King is a perfect picture of salvation. That handicap was intricately placed upon him by God for just those reasons. There is so much more to it that could be said, just sufficed to say that those things hold true for me too. I would not be saved had this not happened to me. Like so many, I know I wouldn’t have given God a second thought. Without doubt, I would not be the person I am today. I could easily see me being the worst person if it wasn’t for God’s divine intervention. I read His Word and this broken pot found himself. I know that through my circumstance God has set me aside, for His purpose. For me, that is to teach “in spirit and in truth”. ~ Jonathan |
