Clay
Bethesda EC Church at ReedsvilleBethesda EC Church at Reedsville

A healing community where God transforms people into His likeness toward unity in the faith
Text Box: The hope that the Christian possesses can surpass any circumstance in life. The words that the Apostle Paul wrote to first-century Christians apply to us today— But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. …Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.* Paul describes the challenge of the Christian life as living in the “now” and the “not yet.” Realistically, everything that the ancient Christian could observe with his eyes seemed to reveal hopeless situations—especially from the pressure of heavy persecution all around. In other words, it was extremely difficult to be a first-century Christian. However, the Apostle Paul also realized something unique within all of his sufferings—there was more to the picture than what was seen. In fact, these unseen elements explained the visible picture and allowed him to make sense of it. Paul was raised as a Jewish Pharisee, and detested the followers of Jesus so much that he fiercely sought to put them to death. Before his conversion on the Road to Damascus, he only possessed part of the picture. But now he holds the last piece that made it all come together—a valuable treasure in jars of clay—that treasure is the good news of Jesus Christ living in the lives of His people. For the Apostle Paul and Christians today the good news has changed the world that they see. Everything is filtered through this lens of hope. Life and its processes only make sense when this good news forms the backdrop upon which to view everything else. We may ask the question, “Why?” but we always know that the pieces of life’s puzzle fit neatly within the framework of this reality. Although everything we see and experience in this world has been tainted by the effects of a corrupted world, God did not originally create the world in such a way—He created everything in perfection. He also created people in His own image for full participation in knowing Him intimately. To allow for humanity’s full participation in this love relationship, God also granted them freedom to make choices for their lives. However in a moment of freedom to become like God, the first humans lost their perfect world and their unique relationship with God. Things changed! The ground was cursed. The human experience of life was fractured. The human relationship with God was distorted and God allowed His creation to suffer death in order to allow for redemption. In the end, God removed these first humans from the Garden and the Tree of Life so that they would not live forever in their sinful condition. No one could have imagined the grief that God experienced and how everything changed in His perfect world. But God did not give up and finish the story with this event. Since His heart longed to maintain a relationship with humans, God established a redemptive plan that would involve nothing less than a divine rescue through His one and only Son—Jesus Christ. Who could ever fully comprehend the extent of such love? God would sacrifice His only Son to the cruel hands of sinful humans in order to save the very ones who would despise His Son. What a paradox? This sacrificial death of Jesus was ultimately the most important expression of God’s love in that He would change the circumstances of His people. People could now be redeemed from a useless existence into a valuable transformed existence. Ironically, the final piece of the entire plan is that we cannot experience God’s complete redemption until we pass through death’s doorway. Death is the final and necessary part of the journey for full redemption to take place—we will all enter God’s presence this way. Therefore, we continue our spiritual journey through a world of corruption now in anticipation of full transformation in a world to come. As Christians we live between two realities—what is now and what is yet come. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” Life throws its horrible situations at us. We feel pressure on every side; we sense moments, days, and even long periods of confusion; we even face cruelty from certain relationships; and we will come to days where we have the wind knocked right out of us. But through it all, we realize that the pressure will not crush us; we realize that the confusion will never defeat our hope; we realize that our Father continually loves us despite our weaknesses; and we realize that death will never defeat God’s rescuing hand. Perhaps you feel the effects of a corrupted world in your life today, but have never experienced this eternal power from God beyond what you can see with your limited vision or contain in your mortal flesh—in order to experience this treasure in jars of clay. Today you can change your circumstances by making the Story of Jesus part of your life. The urgency of your choice for redemption must be decided upon “now”—it cannot wait for the “not yet” to arrive. Your freedom grants you the opportunity to believe today. Perhaps unbelief still reigns in your heart, begin by praying for the Lord to help your unbelief. Click here to contact a pastor. Perhaps you are ready to accept Christ in your heart this day as a response to the good news. Click here to make a decision for Jesus Christ. *2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-18

 Jars

Treasure

Treasure in

Jars of Clay