Eternal Treasure in Jars of Clay
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.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. –2 Corinthians 4:7-10, 16-18
I have a ginger jar in my office. Decades ago, when our sons were young, one of them was playing around after dinner one night and knocked it off of the table. Needless to say, it broke into many pieces. It was a special jar to my wife and so I attempted to glue it back together. But as you can see from the photo, my attempt was only somewhat successful. I keep it in my office as a reminder of the Lord’s ability to heal the brokenness of our lives.
In last week’s devotion, Jane did an excellent job of spelling out Paul’s secret of being content in any and every situation—in both peaks and valleys. Why could the apostle Paul be so content, regardless of the situation? This week’s passage gives us a glimpse from a different angle and may help us navigate the peaks and valleys in our life.
There is an acronym in our day that speaks to the source of discontent— FOMO—Fear Of Missing Out. Whether we fear missing out on financial security, possessions, experiences, the “good life,” having everyone like us, or whatever it may be—when life does not work out as we had hoped, we tend to become discontent.
Paul, on the other hand, focuses on the riches of Christ. The Greek word he uses for “treasure” in verse 7 is thesauros from which we get our word thesaurus. A thesaurus is a “storehouse (treasure) of synonyms.” The Greek word literally means a storehouse for treasure. The treasure of which Paul speaks is the glory of God in Jesus Christ. The amazing thing about this treasure is that God risks putting this valuable treasure in common, every day, breakable human lives (jars of clay, some translate as “cracked pots”). We get jostled around, pressured, boxed in, persecuted, and sometimes thrown down in life. But notice Paul’s words in v. 10—“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
There has been a recent bank commercial that asks the question, “What’s in your wallet?” As followers of Christ, we can ask the question, “What’s in my life?” Is it FOMO? Or—whether in the deepest valley or on the highest peak—do we carry around the TOJC (Treasure Of Jesus Christ)?
Yes, as Paul says, outwardly we all waste away, but day by day inwardly we are being renewed by Jesus. We don’t need to be dismayed that there are imperfections in our life—cracks in the jar. We won’t lose the treasure because Jesus is always abundantly pouring Himself into our life. The cracks are there so that the light of Jesus’ presence can be seen by others. As we follow Jesus and die to ourselves (always carry around in our body the death of Jesus), amazing blessings result. As Paul says in v. 18, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
You are a storehouse of the treasure of Jesus Christ. That is truth…in the peaks and in the valleys. And so Paul could say, “Therefore, we do not lose heart.” Be encouraged, my friend, for Christ is in you! It is in our brokenness that His light “leaks out” for others to see.
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