Earthen vessels

25 July 2023 Reflection - Feast of St. James the Apostle

We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. - 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

Life is temporary. Life is fleeting. All the things, events, circumstances, and seasons fade away. Uncertainty is what seems to be something that has constancy.

In today’s passage, Paul writes a letter to the Corinthians to remind them of the non-permanence of life, that the material treasures that they kept on chasing and the pagan practices they were doing were all insignificant and irrelevant when it comes to the true treasures that they should be pursuing.

Verse 7 states that all of us have a treasure in jars of clay, or in some translations, earthen vessels. But why use jars of clay? What is the analogy all about?

Jars of clay are made by a potter, moulded and shaped according to his desire, and baked in the fire to harden and refine until the clay is firm. These earthen vessels were predominantly used in the first century to become temporary storage items for sacred scrolls or valuable documents for safe keeping.

Man can be referenced as jars of clay because of certain similarities. Like the jars, man was also moulded and shaped by God according to His image and likeness. At the same time, man’s life is also temporary and can easily be broken.

Paul states that our very own lives are temporary vessels for the eternal treasures that await us in heaven.

This reminds us that we should pursue not material and temporal things but rather the treasure of the Gospel that has of eternal value.

Doing so convicts us to act with the urgency to spread the light of the Gospel to others so that they too will be able to receive their treasures in heaven.

However, like the jars of clay, man can also be easily broken. Trials, challenges, and struggles tend to bend and break us. Difficulties in life will fill us with cracks that may break us totally apart. This world we live in, because of its broken nature, will also try to influence us to lean more onto our broken state.

But if the Spirit of God dwells within us, we are given the confidence that His light will shine through our cracks, weaknesses, and brokenness, and be the vessels of God for His greater glory.

We are given the sobering truth of what happens when the Spirit of God dwells within us. Verse 8-10 of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians beautifully provides hope and consolation that even though we are vessels that are easily broken, we are not completely useless.

We may be afflicted, but we are not constrained.

We may be perplexed, but we are not driven to despair.

We may be persecuted, but we are not abandoned.

We may die because of our faith, but we have hope in the resurrection to eternal life in Christ.

So let us look ahead and push forward with hopeful expectation that in all things we experience and encounter, a greater reward awaits us for eternity. And we are guaranteed that the heavenly reward that is in store for us will never be taken away and will not disappear.

Until such time comes, we have to pursue Christ Who perfects our faith, and persevere so that our temporary lives will be a manifest of God’s eternal glory.

Dear Papa,

Today has been a good day. I praise and thank You for letting me witness a bright and beautiful sunny day.

I thank You for creating me uniquely and distinctly, that I have sets of skills that You gifted me so that I can glorify You.

Remind me always that whatever skills I have is Yours, use it to reveal Yourself to others.

I thank You for my brokenness, for the cracks in my life that allow Your light to shine through.

Too often I focus on my weakness and failures and define myself through my shortcomings. Remind me that my identity is not found on the broken cracks but rather on Your light that illuminates through. I believe that I am identified in Your love and grace, affirm me in this Truth.

I thank You for giving me the hope of receiving Your eternity someday.

Fix my focus to only gaze upon Your kingdom, that I may continue to strive and persevere to arrive at the destination You have called me to go.

Be with me as I journey in my life onto the next, so that every memory, every experience, and every moment reflects Your presence.

All these I pray in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Saviour, together with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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