Whilst studying, I was privileged to attend the same fellowship as the rector of the seminarium. Prof Jan became a mentor and friend. He used to say: "God se mense is mooi mense", which can be loosely translated as "God's people are beautiful". Just that. No further qualifications. I used to think about this a lot in those days, the whole idea of ministry was beautiful and rosy and I was super-idealistic. And then I forgot that.
The second thing Prof Jan told us regularly was that you have to be sure that your hands are clean before touching the spirits of God's people. I have lost sight of this too.
Today, more than ever, I am convinced that God's people are beautiful and I am conscious of the fact that my hands need to be clean before I dare guide, mold or build them.
I also know that I can't believe that God's people are beautiful, if He does not love through me. My hands can only be clean when I am in right standing with Him. Any attempts to clean it myself, will just lead to an even bigger mess. Having said all of this, I am still a broken and scarred claypot and I am still unable to begin to comprehend how God can use this broken vessel.
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