Jars of Clay

Have you ever witnessed the fragility of human life? How easily we get our feelings hurt. The slightest fall or touch could bruise or cut our bodies. How pressure and fear can affect our mental state and wellness. We are, in our very nature, fragile creatures. And yet, we’ve been given something tremendous to accomplish as believers. A task, as we understand it from Scripture, comes with pressure, persecution, struggle, and a host of other growing pains. Yet, we’re called to go out into the world and share the message of Jesus Christ. To be the light that the world sees.

But what’s interesting is that we aren’t the light itself, but a vessel for which the light can be seen. As Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthian church, he set out to explain who they were to the world around them and the command to go. Paul wrote for what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body (2 Corinthians 4:5-10 NIV).

Within the fragility of our human self, we carry the light of God. Paul says that we are like jars of clay, easily broken and often shattered. Yet within each believer is a treasure waiting to be shared with the world. Even though we face struggles of offense or hurt feelings, though our bodies may be hurt, and no matter the state of our mental wellness; we can still carry inside of our frailness the greatest treasure and light for the world to see. It’s in our fragility that the all-surpassing power of God may be revealed. We carry the death and resurrection of Jesus inside of our hearts. It’s our job to share that with the people around us. Not just in words, but also in how we act and how we react. In how we respond when the pressure is on or when we’re having a bad day. The lives we lead preach not ourselves, but who Jesus is to us. 
How we live in community with other believers matters. How we reach the world for the gospel matters. As disciples, we’re called to go and share that hope with the world. Not to keep it hidden behind the walls we build around us. You may be hard pressed today. You may be perplexed. You may be persecuted. You may be struck down. But as Paul says, when you carry the light of Jesus you won’t be crushed, despaired, abandoned, or destroyed. The fragile jar of clay that is your life carries a wonderful treasure. Let that light shine this week.