In the ancient times of the New Testament, one way to make money was to sell things in the open-air markets in the village. You could sell the fruits of your crops, livestock, pottery and many other goods. Those who sold pottery would take time to diligently preparing an inventory of pottery to sell at the market. However, in the dry climate of Israel, the pottery would often crack before it ever made it to the “Show room floor” of the market.
As you can imagine, the cracks and crevices didn’t help for the sales of these pots, so the potters came up with an idea. They took wax and fill it into the small openings in the pot and then paint over them in hopes that the curious customer wouldn’t notice. It wasn’t a bad idea… that is, until they got into the squelching heat of the market. I suppose the pots did fine for the first few hours of the day, but once the heat of the sun began to hit that beautiful pottery, the wax underneath began to melt. The paint ran with the wax, and the potter didn’t make any money. This is one of the ways we got the word “Sincere” – meaning, “without wax.”
As Christians, many times we try to fill the cracks and crevices of our lives hoping that no one else in the church will see our flaws. We don’t want anyone to know our problems, our hurts, our fears, or our failures. Yet, Christ called us to be sincere followers (1 Timothy 1:5), leaving behind ourselves and abandoning our lives for His causes. This kind of faith promises true life and is why Christ said, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” (Luke 17:33)
I have found that an unhindered passion for Christ often flows out of the most authentic people.
When we stop carrying what others think and simply live to please God, we are often more available to Him to accomplish His purposes.
Live your faith out load; don’t worry about the screaming “Crowd” in your life—they screamed for Christ’s to be killed and He still took the Cross to please His Father first and foremost!
