But
we have this treasure in jars of clay
to
show that this all-surpassing power
is
from God and not from us.
2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV
Life is fragile. The flesh and blood body
that wraps our spirit and our soul is prone to illness, disease and decay. We
are, the Apostle Paul says, jars of clay—scooped from the dust of the ground
by the hand of the Almighty. We can be broken, stepped on and crushed by this
world.
But, when through the Holy Spirit of the
Living God, Christ dwells in us, God’s all-surpassing power can be demonstrated
through us in the midst of every turmoil and crisis. When we think we are at
the end of our rope, hope lives in us.
Paul
continues by saying, “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.” (vs 8-9)
God is the source of our power, and it is
our responsibility to remain plugged in, charged and recharged.
When life is hard and we are tempted to
sequester ourselves from the world, when tragedy strikes and we are tempted to
blame God, when we grow weary in well doing or are just tired of the rat race
of life, God is our strength; Jesus is the treasure we hold in our clay jar.
That it is God’s strength and power and not ours alone motivates us to put one
foot in front of the other to make it through the day.
And in the doing of that…in the “making it
through” in the not giving in or giving up, in the “staying plugged into the
power” of the Almighty, we allow the light of the world to shine through the
cracks in our clay jar.
So never forget, with Christ living in you
and me, when the storms of life sweep over our clay jar and appear to be
aimlessly tossing us about, when we are hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted and
struck down, and when the cracks in our clay seem to be widening, we hold this
treasure of the “all-surpassing” power of the Living God who assures that we
will not be destroyed.
In the end, the fragility of life allows
us the privilege of proclaiming the power and glory of our Great God to the
world. So don’t give in to despair and hopelessness when they come pounding
against your jar. Plug into the power within you and remember the words of
Paul, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (v 16)
©
Joyce Powell
No comments:
Post a Comment