Clay Pots

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us…”  “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”                                                                                                           II Corinthians 4:7-18

I was particularly struck by the first and last verses of this reading from II Corinthians. We have this treasure- that is, spiritual eternal life- in clay vessels. The most precious gift one can imagine comes packaged in a very breakable, fragile clay pot. Yet, more often than not we honor the package more than the prize inside because the package is clearly visible, maybe even attractive. Maybe this is like the child who opens a present then quickly disregards the present for the fun of playing with the box it came in. We can laugh at the irony of that, yet in a sense, we may do that quite often ourselves.

We are essentially spiritual beings housed in a very fragile body. That body is prone to illness, pain, addiction, and aging, yet that is what gets the majority of our attention rather than the eternal life unseen inside. Verse 18 tells us that we are to see with spiritual eyes, not focusing on the “seen” but the “unseen”, because the unseen is eternal. Once again, we see the paradox of the spiritual life. Our soul is eternal, and it lasts forever. Our body, the clay vessel, will, in time, become broken and ultimately will no longer be able to hold the soul. The soul will seek after its Creator if we follow life as we were created to do- to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(Mt. 6:33)

Finally, let’s consider verse 16, ^“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” While we recognize that our bodies are literally wasting away day by day (a thought we mercifully relegate to denial land), our spirits are being renewed, because the resources for that are eternal and unseen. God is at work in us through His renewal agent, the Holy Spirit. So, we need not worry about where our strength comes from, we know it comes from our relationship with God and His unseen, but constant work in us.

Prayer: Father, thank you for your constant renewal of us. These clay vessels to which we have become so attached are not forever, but our relationship with you is, Amen