Would you help me remember who it is that you have made me to be.and who it is that lives within me? Help me to live in the power that’s been given to me. In my moments of doubt and weakness, would you remind me that you have chosen me? You have placed within me a treasure that will strengthen me in my greatest weakness. A Prayer to Remember Who You Are in God’s Eyesĭear God, there are moments when I forget who I am and the treasure you have given me. He is using you to shine his light in the darkness. If you are a follower of Jesus, then you have the greatest treasure ever known. It’s not about who had been a Christian the longest, who can recite the most verses by heart, or who has the most quiet time. He doesn’t limit this treasure to the spiritually elite and mature. One of the reasons he chooses us is precisely because we are jars of clay. And he actively chooses us to share his light and truth.
JARS OF CLAY FULL
We are living in the full victory of Jesus.
They heard about the one who was to come, who would wipe away their sins and fulfill the law they were so desperately trying to keep. If we were to be beautiful and polished vessels, then others would see that.and not the treasure within.Īs believers under the new covenant, we have something believers of the Old Testament longed for and dreamt of. Yes, we are weak, cracked, and far less than perfect, but the treasure within us is glorious. To focus on only the frailty and weakness of jars of clay is missing the complete meaning of what God is saying about us. Most of the occurrences focus on a physical object, but others typify the molding or shaping of the character of an individual.Įven in the very beginning of scripture, a picture is painted: the first humans ever created are made from clay. There are many references to jars and vessels throughout scripture, including the Old Testament. What the Bible Says about Clay and Earthen Vessels This is what Paul is really focusing on, and this is where our hope as believers is to come from. The treasure being placed in jars of clay shows the power of God and not of us. The real focus of this metaphor is the treasure.and the verse that follows explains this better. It becomes really easy to focus on the lack of beauty and uniqueness of the vessel, but that’s what makes the treasure all the more prominent. The treasure is the focus of this statement, rather than the vessel. It truly is a treasure that God has entrusted each and every believer with. It is the active work of Jesus’ victory in your life. The gospel is more than just a single event that happened in time, which is a true piece of the equation that we can’t miss. The light that shines through the darkness lives in us. The power of Jesus that resurrected him from the grave is the treasure that we hold. It seems counterintuitive for God to put his greatest treasure in the most common and fragile vessel available-us. “Treasure in jars of clay” is a contrasting statement about the message and the messenger. What Is the Treasure We Have in Jars of Clay? Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Balaji Malliswamy God is the creator and we are the created. The potter is the one who kneads, forms, and shapes the clay into a vessel. It is never the clay who decides what it will be or is able to turn itself into a masterpiece. Oftentimes, the authors are reminding their readers that they are the clay in the hands of the potter, being molded and shaped. In many areas of scripture there is a reference to the potter and the clay. This would have been a piece of land filled with pieces of clay jars that were discarded after they broke. In fact, in the book of Matthew there is reference to a potter’s field. It wouldn’t take much for a jar to be knocked over and to shatter all over the floor. Since their material was inexpensive, they break easily, just as we see with clay jars today. Jars of clay also signify weakness and fragility. People from every class of society would have been familiar with and owned the vessels described in 2 Corinthians 4. They were common items that were made of the most basic material-earth. The average person probably had multiple jars of clay because of their versatile use in the homes. Because of this, here are at least 3 aspects of jars of clays that would have come to mind for 1 st-century readers.įrom cooking utensils to toilets, jars of clay were part of everyday life during biblical times. Jars of clay were everyday items that the original audience would have been familiar with.
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