Jars of Clay

In 2 Cor 4 Paul writes of our having this treasure in jars of clay. The treasure is Christ, the gospel all that it is, our adoption our being children of the living God. Point being that we are described as jars of clay. A couple things to note about jars of clay at the time Paul writes this description. First jars of clay were for common use. In a home they would be in the kitchen, and the toilet area as well as by the door. So there would be many in a house used for the common things in life. They were also very fragile, easy to crack and break. It didn’t take much for them to wear out. The next interesting things is that they were made by hand. The potter would shape mold and determine the use of the clay.

The exciting truth shouts at us today, as scripture tells us He is the Potter and we are the clay. And He has entrusted us with Himself, knowing that we are common, nothing special, ordinary people. Not only that He knows we are fragile and prone to break. In fact we break a lot, and at times spend more time broken than not. And yes He knows this about us because He made us with His hand. And He continues to put us back together again and again and again, never upset always with love and care picking up the broken pieces and putting us back together.

If it were me I would not choose jars of clay for such a treasure. But His ways are not our ways. We are told why He does this in 2 Cor 4., and it is so show that the surpassing power, greatness and glory belongs to Him and not us. He gets the glory and we get the amazing grace and joy of being safe in the hands of the potter. To understand this it to unlock the key to joy. My fellow common, broken traveler, we are made and held and cared for by His hand. He never leaves, He just keeps putting us back together, with love and gentle care. He shows His power through our fragility and we receive love grace and mercy each and every moment of every day. What a gift to such undeserving jars of clay like us! Celebrate, enjoy and rest in the loving hands of the potter today!
#amazinggrace
Shalom,

Tom Crouse