Jars of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NIV)

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Jars of Clay. Everyone has some. They are the containers that hold are staples, the boxes and albums that store our pictures and the totes holding are personal essentials. The outside isn't that important. The lids may be warped, the box corners snagged and disheveled, the jars, cracked and chipped, but they continue to serve their purpose.  The treasure lies within.

The Apostle Paul makes this comparison, when addressing the Church in Corinth to encourage them. He speaks later in verse 16, that although the outward body is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day. 


Some days I just feel beat up by this world.Some times, those wounds are emotional tolls, stabs of disappointment to the heart and soul by people I love.  Evil rejoices in his mini-victory, but I am reminded by the Spirit that my cracks, my bruises and chips, my wounds are temporary. Many times, I am sure, I caused a crack in someone else's jar. But like a jar of clay, what lies inside is precious and preserved. It pours out and opens up as a testimony to the Glory of God. His work is best displayed in us,  a simple jar of clay, a humble servant, faithful to the end, when all things will be made new. 


When I am feeling crushed, I will think of a grape who pours out sweet juice. When I am feeling hard-pressed, I will think on the rose bud between two sheets of wax paper, preserved in a book. When I am perplexed, I will think of all the times God has answered prayer in ways I never imagined. When I am persecuted, I will pray out loud for my foe, and when I am struck down, I will rejoice, for with my Heavenly Father, I shall live eternal. 

Father God,  I thank you that I am filled to the full with your Holy Spirit. May what pours out bring You glory and what I hold within, satisfy my soul when life finds me buried, pressed upon and disrespected. For in this too, You seek to make me shine. Amen.