“Treasure In Clay Jars” ( 2 Corinthians 4: 7, NIV ) by Carley Evans

Here and there, Paul makes a quick statement to his audience that encapsulates a truth so important it is surprising that he issues it as an aside. Paul speaks to the church at Corinth about “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,” (2 Corinthians 4:4) then he speaks of his own physical and emotional suffering in his pursuit of sharing that same gospel with them. In between, as a quick aside, Paul writes this truth:

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Paul writes to the church at Rome that:

“God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)

Think on that word irrevocable. It’s a legal term meaning “unable to be retracted, altered, revoked, cancelled.” Essentially God signs a contract with us through His Son, and He seals that contract with Himself, as Holy Spirit. As you can see, we figure very little in this contract. We take the paper joyfully, read the contract repeatedly because we find it so hard to accept even as it is easy to understand. If we’ve got any sense at all, we realize we are jars of clay with a mighty, unimaginable treasure within.

The trick is to let that treasure shine as the Light it is. Paul writes:

“Show that you are a letter from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3)