Lessons From the Wheel (Cont.)
March 2, 2018
Does anyone like failure? Although I can’t think of anyone I know that enjoys it, some of my acquaintances seem to handle it better than I do. My dislike for it was on clear display last week when I went to retrieve a bowl I had fashioned a week earlier and found the bottom contained a large crack. I turned the bowl over hoping to relieve some of my frustration by finding was only a superficial crack; seeing the fault on the underside I knew this might be a problem. After a consultation with our teacher I disgustingly placed the defective “bowl” in the container for recyclable clay and a friendly disagreement ensued between me and the class leader. I was sure defective clay led to the failure while she assured me that it was operator error.
The lesson for today comes from a comment made during the discussions on the bowl. The teacher told me the piece could not be placed into the kiln, “because a small crack like that will open up under the intense heat and the glazing compound will leak out.” This is the problem with the tests and trials that show up in our life. Sometimes we can look back and see those little character flaws we don’t want to address open up and cause us huge issues when the pressure from our circumstances increases. And while we wonder what happened, we remain aware that we should have addressed the small cracks before they became a gaping hole.
Some of the people I meet through counseling are saying the same thing. The text conversation that turned “flirty” ended up wounding a marriage deeply. The unhealthy thoughts towards someone else resulted in criminal charges and court dates. A hard and angry heart grew into a sharp tongue which caused great hurt. Each of these began as a small crack that ended up hurting others. Let me encourage you to not ignore the “cracks” in our character. Peter gives a standard in 1 Peter 1:13-16 and Paul issues a challenge in Romans 12:9. Commit to evaluating the voids in your life. When you do, you’ll never regret it.
Pastor Dave
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