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Treasure in Clay Jars
1God has been kind enough to trust us with this work. This is why we never give up. 2We don't do shameful things that must be kept secret. And we don't try to fool anyone or twist God's message around. God is our witness that we speak only the truth, so others will be sure we can be trusted. 3If there is anything hidden about our message, it is hidden only to someone who is lost.
4The god who rules this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers. They cannot see the light, which is the good news about our glorious Christ, who shows what God is like. 5We are not preaching about ourselves. Our message is that Jesus Christ is Lord. He also sent us to be your servants. 6 The Scriptures say, “God commanded light to shine in the dark.” Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ.
Reflect
Thanks to media and the ubiquitous access modern technology has provided us, we are more quickly connected to unfolding catastrophes than any other time in our history. This passage is an unexpected, but strong “go to” in the midst of tragedy.
While we weep for victims of senseless violence or unfathomable persecution, we can know that those who have Christ have hope. My heart truly breaks for those who don’t know God, but must still live in such damaging conditions as abject poverty, extremist war zones or severe religious poverty.
Paul makes this so clear when he reminds us about the fragile and temporary world we live in – likening our lives to jars of clay, so easily broken. We live in the seen, the finite, and the temporal. But every day, God sees the suffering that people experience without him. While Satan seeks to veil the plight of the hopeless and helpless around the world, the truth remains that there IS good news!
Light always cuts through the darkness, and we get to share the light of Christ wherever we go, which cuts through any Satan-built façade.
By faith, we are called to cut through the cultural clutter and speak clearly of Jesus Christ. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we bear his light and claim power over Satan’s darkness, so we can boldly share our light, knowing “the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ” (v 6).
Respond
Lord, open our eyes to see the unseen. May we embrace the destiny of your calling on our lives. Give us the ability to see what you see — for your Word to go out as a light in the darkness, cutting through Satan’s wiles and deceptions. We ask for hope to come into hearts and homes. Empower us to do as your Holy Spirit prompts us. Amen.
Rob Hoskins
Rob Hoskins is the President of OneHope. Since taking leadership of OneHope in 2004 he has continued to advance the vision of God’s Word. Every Child by partnering with local churches to help reach more than 1.5 BILLION children and youth worldwide with a contextualized presentation of God’s Word. Rob is a gifted missions futurist, innovative ministry strategist, relentless visionary and global connector. He graduated in May 2019 with a DMin in World Missions and Cross-Cultural Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Kim, have two married daughters and last year they became the joyful and proud grandparents to Zoey Marie! Rob is an active blogger and has written three books on topics that are dear to his heart: MissioLOGICAL: Thoughts on missions, leadership and reaching thnextgeneration. (2014); Hope Delivered: Affecting destiny through the power of God’s Word. (2012);Then…Seeds of Spiritual Lineage. (2002).