Message from Scripture: 7/15/2020

Today’s message from Scripture comes from 2 Cor. 4:7: “Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.”

In 1947 2 shepherds, searching for a stray goat in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, stumbled on a cave and found several clay jars, containing decaying bundles of leather scrolls. The scrolls were the oldest copies of the Old Testament, and were placed in the jars and hidden in caves when the Roman army came to destroy Jerusalem in AD 70. Little if anything has been said of the containers, as they are ordinary clay jars, like thousands of other clay jars made in that period of time and found by many archeologists.

The jars Paul speaks about to the Christians in Corinth are not the pottery found at the Dead Sea, but life in the flesh. He probably is thinking of himself and the other apostles, who possess the frailties that come with the flesh, but still, in the strength of the Lord, were able to reflect the light of the gospel. This was the true treasure, that even with all the weaknesses inherit in the flesh, God could use them to bring salvation to the world.

For us today, we too are like clay jars that contain something precious, the precious message of the gospel. We may be weak, but our God is strong, and in the gospel there is power that can transform lives and shape one’s destiny for eternity. Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17).

Our lives are important to God. No matter how weak you may feel or think you are, God works through the gospel to transform us, and enable us to make a difference in others, by our words and deeds. What a treasure we have in us, and what a difference it makes. Rejoice in what God can do for each of us, and have a great day in Christ. God bless.

Robert