Praise the Lord for this new day. It was in 1964 that Billy Graham published a
book titled, "World Aflame". As we look at the world situation we notice the
world is indeed aflame, given the explosive situations in the Middle East, along
the Southern border of the United States, and in Africa. Many Christians are
going through some intense sufferings and persecutions.
We have
been praying for a sweet servant of Jesus who is battling some devastating
health problems. Many of us know some one dear to us that is "walking through
the valley of the shadow of death". The apostle Paul wrote 2
Corinthians after surviving more than a few "train wrecks" in
his life and ministry. Though it is one of the least familiar of Paul's
letters, it addresses the harsh realities of life and the unbreakable faith that
sustains us through difficult and dangerous times. We don't know the
particulars, but in chapter 12 Paul catalogues some of the difficulties he has
encountered during his ministry: he had been in prison, flogged, stoned,
shipwrecked, robbed, starved, and abandoned. Paul was highly qualified to speak
on the subject of hardship.
Paul
began verse 7 by claiming, "we have this treasure in jars of clay." In this
context, "we" includes not only Paul and his associates, but also, by extension,
everyone who bears the name of Christ. The treasure he's talking about is the
gospel; not just the message of the life and death and resurrection of
Jesus, but also the power behind the message—the very life of God
available through faith in Christ. Instead of "jars of clay," some translations read
"clay pots" or "earthenware vessels." God has taken this great treasure, the life
of Christ, and placed it in people like you and me, who are as common and
fragile as clay pots. God stores his treasure in fragile containers—like
us—to display his life-giving power. That way, it is clear that whatever we
accomplish is done only by God's power. It doesn't make sense to place something so
valuable in so ordinary a container unless, of course, you want people to notice
the treasure and not the container. God pours his life into ordinary
containers, like you and me, so that people will praise him, and not us. We are
who we are only because of the treasure we carry within us—the life-giving power
of Christ. Moreover, the harder life gets, the more conspicuous the
treasure becomes.
Paul
said, "We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed." We might say that
Paul was stressed out. Paul was hard pressed, but he didn't give in. "We are
perplexed, but not in despair," he continued. In other words, we're confused,
bewildered, and mixed up. Although Paul was perplexed, he didn't give up. He
went on to say, "We're persecuted, but not abandoned." "We're struck down, but
not destroyed." Literally and emotionally, Paul had been knocked off his feet
again and again. Paul and his partners were struck down, stressed out, mixed
up, picked on, and knocked down, but they always got back up again. The world
does its worst to us but, as Christians, we are still standing; not because of
who we are—we're just a bunch of clay pots—but because of the life-giving power
God placed within us. That power is never as conspicuous as when we're going
through hard times.
Paul's unusual resume reminds us that God never promised
us immunity from the hurts and hardships of life. If anything, following Christ
makes things more complicated and leaves us more vulnerable to hostility and
heartache. The most obvious evidence of the presence of God in our lives isn't
that we escape hardship, but that we endure hardship. When we feel hard
pressed, perplexed, picked on, or knocked down, it doesn't necessarily mean that
we are doing something wrong. On the contrary, it probably means we are right
where we ought to be. God doesn't take pleasure in our hardship, nor does he
afflict us with pain simply to see how we will handle it. In this crash-bang
world, every time we get knocked around without breaking, we show the world we
have something special inside us—the life of Christ. As long as that's true,
we're unbreakable. God dispenses
his life-giving power through us.
Jars of
clay were meant to be used, not admired. Our Lord is looking for rough clay
pots that can be used everyday. He's looking for the kind of pots that don't
need to be tucked away in a china closet, but can be sent out into a destructive
world, carrying within them the life of Christ.
Interestingly, that Paul chose the phrase "given
over to death" to describe our mission. It's the same expression the gospels
use to describe Jesus' being turned over to the authorities for flogging and
crucifixion. In the same way that God allowed his Son to suffer for the sins of
the world, he sometimes allows his servants to suffer in order to offer
everlasting life to the world. When a believer loses his job in a bad economy
but responds with trust and perseverance, the life of Christ seeps through.
When a Christ-follower finds herself flat on her back in a hospital bed,
uncomfortable and uncertain, yet blesses those around her with grace and faith,
the life of Christ spills out. When people celebrate a person's life and sing
of the joys of heaven at a Christian funeral, the everlasting life of Christ
fills the room with it's fragrance.
The
blessing of God is that in the midst of pain and hardship, we continue to trust,
obey, love, and live the vibrant the life of Christ within us. Paul was
reminding himself, his readers, and his critics that the ministry of the gospel
was not about him, his speaking ability, his leadership, or his success. It's
about Christ. We are just clay pots. Jesus is the
treasure.
In
Christ,
Brown
