God
often blows me away with how he does things. He uses ordinary people who
struggle with sin, depression, doubt, fear, lack of faith and more. Even how
Jesus saves us is upside down to many of us; Jesus takes our sin and punishment
to the cross where he beats Satan. Think about that, Jesus wins by dying in a
horrible way! In the cross we see how much Jesus loves us; there he brings us
forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus calls us to follow and trust in him alone,
to obey him in response to his love. Jesus knows that we’ll mess up again and
again, and still he chooses us to build the kingdom of heaven here. Salvation’s
not about getting to heaven; it’s about joining Jesus in his work in building
the kingdom of heaven here.
Paul’s writing to the church in Corinth, a church he’s
had fights with when they stopped listening to him and honoured richer and more
popular teachers instead. Paul worked while he preached, he was poor and they
were mostly rich, so they preferred preachers more like themselves. They didn’t
understand that it’s through who we are as regular ordinary people that Jesus
shines light and hope into the world. Jesus uses plain ordinary people like us
to carry out his plans and build his kingdom here.
Question: why would Jesus use regular
people like us to build his kingdom
Paul
shows us how that works; describing us as clay jars and God is the potter who
creates and shapes us. He talks about not losing heart because Jesus is the
treasure; God’s glory that lives in us. That doesn’t mean that life’s always
easy. As Paul says, the world is filled with darkness. We hear of people going
on shooting sprees, or living in abusive relationships, of people living with
depression, mental illness, deep poverty and more. Paul writes, “For
God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our
hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the
face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this
all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Jesus is shining hope
into the world and uses us because regular people connect with regular people.
Each of us has a ministry of hope here!
Clay jars
are common, ordinary and useful for storing almost anything, including treasure.
Some were beautiful, most were plain. Just like life, when you’re working with
pottery, things don’t always turn out as expected, but even the mess-ups can be
used to create beauty when they’re broken up and used in mosaic tiles or art
pieces. Even the pieces that are left over can be broken up and placed in the
bottom of planting pots to help with drainage or placed on pathways to create
variety. This means that the light of Jesus has opportunities everywhere to
shine.
Clay jars are durable, but also
vulnerable to cracking and breaking. That means most of us are probably cracked
pots in one way or another. Paul acknowledges that we can feel hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted and even struck down
at times, creating cracks, sometimes painful cracks in our lives. Paul
wants us to understand that Jesus gives us strength and that whatever we
accomplish comes from him and not ourselves. When we wonder how to go on
because of loss, hurt, struggle, betrayal, and sin, we find strength because of
Jesus, we’re not crushed, not consumed or in complete
despair because he never abandons us nor allows us to be destroyed.
Question: are there cracks in your clay
jar and how did/does Jesus give you strength
The picture of God as a potter is common in the Bible. Jeremiah 18 says, “Go
down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So
I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But
the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter
formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then
the word of the Lord came to me.
He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the
potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” God’s the creator, an artist who
takes pots that are misshapen and reworks them into new jars to be used to
store his treasure of grace, the treasure of Jesus’ Spirit and the glory of the
kingdom of heaven. Paul reminds us of this in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The events of our lives shape us, and when brokenness cracks us
badly, Jesus offers healing and hope; the potter reforming the clay, echoing
Isaiah 64:8 “Yet you, Lord,
are our Father. We are the clay; you are the potter; we are all the work of
your hand.” A couple of my cracks are anger and depression. So, God brought
people into my life who helped me learn to control my anger by focusing on Jesus.
He’s able to give me the ability to change my perspective on things so that my
anger is more manageable. They taught me to recognize and focus on the
blessings all around me and to live out of a spirit of gratitude. My cracks
allow me to understand those who wrestle with anger, and those who experience
dark times of the soul.
Our struggles in life shape us, making us
different
from each other. Because of differences, Jesus is able to use these differences
to be a blessing to different people around us. Our cracks are how Jesus uses
us to reach others to provide hope and guide them to Jesus. As Paul writes at
the beginning of his letter, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
Question: how can your life history help
you to give hope to others
My sister died in a car accident at 18. After the
funeral a woman in the church came up to mom and simply hugged her. Her
daughter died in a car accident when we were 18 years old. She understood my
mom’s suffering and could comfort her in a way that no one else could. Our
nicks and cracks help us comfort others with similar cracks because we’ve
experienced Jesus’ comfort during our suffering and can now offer Jesus’
comfort to others. Someone who’s divorced can walk alongside someone going
through a divorce better than I can. I can walk alongside someone whose child is
cutting or has attempted suicide because Joyce and I walked that pain with a
couple of our children and we understand the fear, guilt, and horror of getting
the call from the police to get to the hospital fast.
We’re all cracked pots and Jesus uses our
cracks to bless others by allowing him to shine through us; bringing healing by
using us as his hands, voice and arms. You can be how God reshapes someone
else’s soul and heart when you open your life and allow Jesus to use you. Through
mentoring, you can change another person’s life. You can change a community
through the power of Jesus. How many lives can you touch with Jesus by starting
a support group; perhaps a parent support group, a divorce or marriage support
group, a grief support group, a life or addictions support group; something to
think about as we look to reach our community for Jesus. Our light shines
brightly by walking with each other and our community and offering Jesus.
Question: what has God put on your heart
to bless our city: share it on Bethel’s Facebook page
We
carry the life of Jesus in us because of the resurrection, this is the
hope we offer: new life and a changed reality because of Jesus’ love. “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.”
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