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27 June 2008
Word on the Web
2 Corinthians 4:7-12
We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that the great power is from God, not from us. We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. We carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die. So death is working in us, but life is working in you
Where would you keep expensive jewellery? You would want a safe, secure place. You wouldn't stash valuables in, say, a tattered cardboard box. In Paul's day "clay jars" were about as common - and as safe - as cardboard boxes are today. It was customary to conceal treasure in them because they had little value or beauty and did not attract attention to themselves and their precious contents.
Maybe "this treasure" Paul refers to is the incredible message of the gospel, God's good news of forgiveness and the promise of life forever? Maybe it refers to the Spirit of God living inside us? Either way, amazingly, God chose to enclose that treasure in people who, like very fragile and temporary clay jars, are ordinary and highly breakable.
A clay jar reminds us that as humans we are frail and live only fleeting lives. The fact that Paul survived all his persecutions and arrests and imprisonments, despite being such a fragile vessel, is testimony to the protecting and delivering power of the Gospel.
But you can only see this treasure through cracks and holes in the clay jar. We need to be damaged ourselves to reveal Christ's glory. Are we prepared to be vulnerable with people and to reach out through our own suffering to meet people going through hard times themselves?
Holy Spirit, we can only be strong when we allow you to work through our weakness. We pray you will use our shortcomings to show God's glory. May we be willing to make ourselves vulnerable so you can reach out to others in their hurting places. Help us to remember that "Without God... we cannot. Without us... God will not." - (John C. Maxwell) Amen.
Written by Kate Hatton
Word on the Web
2 Corinthians 4:7-12
We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that the great power is from God, not from us. We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. We carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die. So death is working in us, but life is working in you
Where would you keep expensive jewellery? You would want a safe, secure place. You wouldn't stash valuables in, say, a tattered cardboard box. In Paul's day "clay jars" were about as common - and as safe - as cardboard boxes are today. It was customary to conceal treasure in them because they had little value or beauty and did not attract attention to themselves and their precious contents.
Maybe "this treasure" Paul refers to is the incredible message of the gospel, God's good news of forgiveness and the promise of life forever? Maybe it refers to the Spirit of God living inside us? Either way, amazingly, God chose to enclose that treasure in people who, like very fragile and temporary clay jars, are ordinary and highly breakable.
A clay jar reminds us that as humans we are frail and live only fleeting lives. The fact that Paul survived all his persecutions and arrests and imprisonments, despite being such a fragile vessel, is testimony to the protecting and delivering power of the Gospel.
But you can only see this treasure through cracks and holes in the clay jar. We need to be damaged ourselves to reveal Christ's glory. Are we prepared to be vulnerable with people and to reach out through our own suffering to meet people going through hard times themselves?
Holy Spirit, we can only be strong when we allow you to work through our weakness. We pray you will use our shortcomings to show God's glory. May we be willing to make ourselves vulnerable so you can reach out to others in their hurting places. Help us to remember that "Without God... we cannot. Without us... God will not." - (John C. Maxwell) Amen.
Written by Kate Hatton
