Jars of Clay

    These two passages have been on my heart for several months now. The Lord has used them to reveal Himself, while also reminding me of His beauty and presence.

2 Corinthians 4:5-18

    "For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

    But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

    Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, 'I believed, and so I spoke,' we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

    So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Hebrews 4:15-16

    "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

    These verses shed light on what it means to ultimately be conformed to the image of Christ. In his book, The Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life, Donald Whitney talks about what it means to be a follower of Christ, he says, "God's eternal plan ensures that every Christian will ultimately conform to Christlikeness." The ultimate goal of discipleship, of walking with God is to become more and more conformed into His image, to look more and more like Him. Whitney goes on to say, "I define godliness as both closeness to Christ and conformity to Christ, a conformity that's both inward and outward, a growing conformity to both the heart of Christ and the life of Christ." Not only does a relationship with Christ change our desires, but it changes our eternity. Not only do we not chase after the things of this world, but we have hope because we know this world is not the end. The pain and suffering that we go through on this side of eternity is not the end, there is hope that He will restore all things and make all things new.

    This begs the question, "What do we mean when we say we want to be conformed more into the image of Christ?" We have to understand what Christ Himself went through. We often say that we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the world, while we either forget what happened to the hands and feet of Jesus, we aren't willing to have the same happen to us, or that we blame Him when we go through the same suffering He went through. As we see in the story of Christ, the ways that you are the most broken are the ways that God plans to use you the most. It was when Christ seemed to be the most broken, suffering death on the cross, that God had a mighty plan for Him to provide redemption for all mankind. To be conformed into His image, we have to be willing to be honest about our brokenness. More ministry happens when we are honest about our brokenness because we all share in brokenness. We are all broken people. People relate to your brokenness, not to the perceived sense of perfection you want them to see in your life. "The best story you can tell about your life is the broken one. Nobody believes the perfect one" (Chris Hulshof). Leonard Cohen says, "There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." Christ allowed His body to be broken on our behalf. Are we willing to do the same? Are we willing to go through suffering for the lives of others?

    What does it mean to be a jar of clay? Think about the relationship between clay and the potter. The clay is used by the potter to create something beautiful. The potter has a vision. More often than not, the potter has to reshape and remold his clay to get it to what he desires it to be. The clay is subject to the potter, subject to the shaping, molding, and changes that the potter sees fit for the end result to be beautiful. The potter, as the creator has every right to reshape the clay to mirror his design. The same goes for us. God is the potter and we are the clay. He has the ultimate vision, we are subject to Him. He shapes and molds us more into His image. The times where it feels like you're starting over, you can have confidence that He is perfectly building His creation to mirror Himself. The clay mirrors the heart of the potter. We mirror the heart of our Father to the world.

    The passage in 2 Corinthians 4 also hits on another important point. "...always carrying in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2 Cor. 4:10-11). In order to be raised with Christ, we have to be willing to die. We cannot expect to be raised without first dying. What does this mean? God promises that this world will cause pain. This world is not the way in which He designed it to be because of the effects of sin. Yet we still have hope. He also promises that He will return and restore all things. He promises that if we are willing to die with Christ, we will be raised again. Being conformed to His image is the greatest joy and hope. Suffering is promised, but so is hope. Are we willing to die with Christ, so that His glory can be shown to the world around us? His death brought a beautiful story of redemption and love. What if we allowed our lives to mirror the same? We die to the things of this world, of the flesh, and we live for Christ and Christ alone, sharing His glory to the world. Philippians 1:21 says, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." All of my life is for the glory of God, including my brokenness.

    We also have the comfort of Hebrews 4:15. God knows you, He knows the pain and suffering you are going through. "Jesus is not a student of our suffering; He became a firsthand participant in it" (Paul David Tripp). He too longs for the world to be made new. He died on the cross so that we could have the hope of eternity spent with Him. Through your suffering, draw close to Christ. It is through Christ that glory of God is displayed through brokenness. Allow God to be the potter. Allow Him the creative freedom to mold you, to shape you, to conform you more into His image. Be honest about your brokenness. Hide the Word of God in your heart so that even through the cracks of your clay jar, He would be the light shining through. We serve a high priest who is familiar with every step we have struggled to take. Let Him lead you to the cross. For it is through our brokenness that His glory is displayed. If dependence on God is my goal, if being conformed to His image is my goal, then my weakness is my strength because it reminds me of my deep and ever present need for Him. Have confidence that God is using your brokenness in a way that only He can. He is the potter with the most beautiful design. And finally, rest in James 4:8 which says, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." We are the clay, He is the potter. May my life, may this broken jar of clay reflect His glory every day of my life.