The last couple of mornings I have been caught up on a passage of scripture and have found myself re-reading it over and over. This morning I took a look at it in a few different translations and I chose to share this one (for the Transformers reference… so theological deep). This is a pretty common passage of scripture but there were a few key pieces that grabbed my heart and I wanted to write them down because I know that I will need them again in the future. I will probably have to do continuations of this post because I am not going to write it all today (I would wear out my two typing fingers and you wouldn’t read it).

II Corinthians 4:7-18 (The Message)

^7-12If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at.

We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!

 ^13-15We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

 ^16-18So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

In verse 7 in the NIV it says that we carry the message in “jars of clay”. This was the first piece of this passage that grabbed. Maybe in part because it is the name of one of the first “Christian” groups that I actually owned a CD of because at that time there weren’t very many good ones. But the imagery here is pretty incredible. As a single guy this probably would have not triggered any thoughts but through my married years I have purchased my share of clay pots.

You know the plain orange pots that are the cheapest ones you can get at Home Depot. I have watched (and even assisted) as my wife has taken those plain clay pots and painted them, accessorized them, and turned them into some really nice patio and porch accents.

Along the way I have learned how fragile they are and as the verse read “not much to look at”. Whether you are a Calvin Klein underwear model or just an average Joe we really are not much to look at. I just lost some of the ladies because they are still thinking about the last Calvin Klein ad. I have met a lot of people that by many standards would be considered as a part of the “beautiful people” until they opened their mouth. I am not sure at what point in life exactly, but at some point I discovered that skin deep beauty can be nice to look at but true beauty involves something from the inside.

I don’t know how I got sidetracked but I spent too much time typing it to erase it… Anyways, the comparison to jars of clay is important because it can help us to remember exactly what we are (and should be) in comparison to God’s power. Many times we as Christ Followers make ourselves out to be something that we are not. Just yesterday I had a conversation with someone who was completely turned off by people in church pretending to not be “human”. To relate that to the pots… rough in spots, fragile, deformed, unlevel at times, half-baked, empty.

As pots go many people would like to be one of those shiny glazed ones with a really beautiful pattern on it. You know the ones that are apparently worth three times as much because they have a nice glaze and a fancy pattern. But one thing I have found in the landscaping stuff that I have done… the fancy pots can take away from the beauty of the plant/flower/tree you put in it. Maybe this is personal taste but to me this is how the text grabbed me and it’s my blog.

What I didn’t tell you was that when my wife and I paint those clay pots it is flat black with a dark orange sponge paint over the top and the accessories are just the simple “feet” things to allow the water run out the bottom.

The beauty of who we are is in our message. I am not going to go into all of the other imagery of plants and oxygen, life giving soil and how it strengthens the fragile pot, etc. because I think you can see where God was leading me. I challenge you to read this passage a few times and see where this imagery takes you.  

God,

Thank you for reminding me this week of who I am in comparison to the power of your message. Thank you for reminding me that the part of me that should catch people’s eye is you. I am sorry for the ways that I have tried to wrap my clay pot at times with facades to hide my imperfections. Even though I may have had good intentions I realize that you are able to use my challenges to enhance the beauty of you. You have reinforced my fragile shell with the infilling of your spirit and I pray that I will be a useful vessel. Amen.