The Treasure in Clay Jars

January 31, 2007

Dear Friend,

Do you ever feel frustrated with your progress as a Christian? I sure do! There are times when I think, "I've been reading my Bible and praying for years now, and just look at me! I'm still struggling!" And the more I look at myself, the more frustrated I feel; the more hopeless it seems. "I should have something to show by now, right? Shouldn't I be looking like a good religious person?"

I've learned from my studies that each one of us is born with a degree of sinfulness and selfishness that only seems to build as we live our lives. Then, when we come to Christ and let Him change us, we seem to think that He's going to make this great person out of each of us. Like taking an old rundown house that is all nasty looking, and slowly rebuilding and remodeling it so that soon it's a stately mansion that everyone will drive by and look at and say, "Wow, just take a look at that house!"

But that is not the way Christ works. Here's what happens when you ask Him into your heart and He comes and lives inside of you. Can't understand it? That's OK, neither do I. But I don't understand electricity or two-stroke engines or rainbows or eyesight, but I still believe in them. And I believe that when you ask Jesus to come into your heart, He does. And so now you have this person with all the bad, and Christ living inside. Kinda like a crummy house with a beautiful--and I mean beautiful--intricately designed vase inside. Now, what Christ does is slowly dismantle all the bad so that the end result will be, not people looking at a new house and admiring the new house, but instead people looking at the vase inside, because the house is invisible.

But it takes time to clean out all the pride and selfishness and evil in each of our lives; so, if you want to see it, simply look at yourself. You'll find it, and you'll be very disappointed. But what we have to do is not look at ourselves, but look instead to Christ; and by beholding we become changed. The old house becomes transparent, and the treasure inside becomes more visible.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. --2 Corinthians 4:7

So the next time you start looking at your jar of clay and getting frustrated because you haven't become a beautiful golden container or an exquisite crystal vase, just remember that that is not the goal. The goal is for Christ to be seen in everything, and that we become invisible!

I'm praying for you!

Mark