Real Hope: Earthen VesselsSample

Jars Of Clay

Clay jars are fragile. They are handmade from the most common materials and were found in almost every household in the first century, and if they are knocked over, they will break. If you were going to find a jar or vessel to place your treasure in, it would not be in a jar of clay. It is interesting, then, that Paul chooses this analogy to describe Christians. We are imperfect, fragile, and easily broken, yet God gave us the privilege of carrying His ‘surpassingly great power’ and life-changing truths to the rest of the world. God did not need to choose us to partner with Him. He could have chosen another way, but He did not. He chose us.

The expression ‘treasure in jars of clay’ highlights a stark contrast between the message and the messenger. This contrast draws even greater attention to the significance of the message.

My great-uncle had this habit of reusing packaging when wrapping his gifts at Christmas. One year he gave my dad a gift in a beautiful Ralph Lauren box, black with gold-etched writing. We could see my dad get excited as he went to untie the ribbon. There was a moment of anticipation in the room as he slowly opened the box to reveal what was inside… which was some very handy car cleaning accessories! Our Dad did his best to look excited, and it truly was a very practical gift, but the packaging had distracted from the gift itself. In many ways, the fact that we are simply jars of clay means all attention is rightly placed on the message we carry, a message that is worth more than gold. This treasure is too precious to be our good idea – it must be divine. The profound reality is it is because, and not despite our weaknesses, that the glory of ‘this surpassingly great power’ can truly be seen.

Written by LUCY WEIL