2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV translation “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Another translation says “We have this treasure in earthen vessels”
Earthen vessels or jars of clay are made from the sand of the earth and are pliable when wet and breakable when dry! Funny how God made us from the same substance (The bible tells us this in Genesis). So why do we some times we forget that we and other people are human to the point of being surprised by what they do or don’t do?
The only perfect person who ever walked the face of the earth was Jesus Christ. even with that we see His humanity on the way to the cross (In the garden of Gethsemane with the disciples). Mathew 26: 38-44 shows us this.
38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” 42He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
With Jesus we see that each time His humanity rose up, the God in Him (His Deity) rose up even higher. We too can overcome like Christ by constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit. (Hence the term I used above “Pliable when wet” with the Holy Spirit) but I’m concerned that a lot of people out there don’t want a relationship with God or are even ready to abandon their relationship with God because of what they’ve seen in the Church or even just daily negative events in the world. Yes, there’s hypocrisy in the Church and there are bad people in the world but give people permission to be human because that’s what they are and don’t be surprised by what they do or don’t do. Also learn to separate who God is from what any earthen vessel has done, especially to you. Now this isn’t a license for those in the church to sin or to make excuses for what some people that call themselves Christians do but it allows us to see clearly that people are mere mortals and that for Christians, it’s the power of God in us at work and not we ourselves. There’s a difference when the power of God is operating in and through someone than when they’re just being the mere mortal they were created as! Seeing things this way gives us a better perspective and helps us not abandon God or our relationship with Him when mere mortals do what they do best by being exactly what God created them as and from (Human and clay).
As a Christian, I pray daily that we that call ourselves Christians all live our lives as exceptional examples and representatives of Christ drawing people to God daily. But for those who have never had a good example of Christ modeled for you. I pray that reading this today will help you see people as human and realize that what whoever did (whether they called themselves Christians or not) is not a reflection of who God is. The devil may want you to think that but it’s not. I pray you open your heart today and seek a relationship with Him today and get to know this awesome God for yourself!
Have a Son (Jesus) filled Sunday y’all!