We are the Clay Pots
I remember when our first child was born. The night we took her home was a snowy early December evening. What a strange feeling, to have this brand new child, and now embark away from the help and surreal environment of the hospital. As new to parenting and all the trappings surrounding it, the very kind nurses in the women’s and children’s department give pointers and tips and offer to check the installation of the car seat. They want to give every opportunity to ensure the safety and well-being of that little child. Our daughter, being only a couple days old, young and vulnerable as she was, did something incredible. When we buckled her into that car seat and clicked her firmly into the base in the back of my wife’s Toyota, she instantly transformed it into something much more significant and valuable.
I can hear vividly the words of my mother, who has probably repeated them many times to all her children as we would prepare to drive off with our kids in tow. She would say, “Drive safe! You are carrying precious cargo.” Of course, the precious cargo wasn’t me, her now-grown baby boy! It was her grandbabies buckled snugly in the back seat. The whole nature of a trip and a car and the concept of planning and safety took on new heights of meaning because of the infinite value of those little lives.
A funny element in this is that not long before our first daughter was born, we purchased a new vehicle. It was a shiny Orange Toyota Rav-4. It wasn’t fancy or luxurious, but it was the nicest car we had owned as a young couple. We enjoyed that car, there were nice features. It was a sharp color and had all-wheel-drive. It was economical and safe and comfortable. But the price of that car paled in comparison to that precious cargo, didn’t it? It could have been a Rolls Royce or a Maserati, but the ratio of value between car and cargo wouldn’t have changed much, because nothing could replace what was inside.
Why all this sentimental talk about cars and children? Because like something dramatically changed when I buckled my little girl into our car for the first time, in a greater but similar way, when Christ comes to dwell within a person, something dramatically changes. There is now precious cargo. There is something inside that is far more honorable and beautiful and costly and precious than the one carrying it. Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7: “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.”
Working backwards, we see a purpose: “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God, and not to us.” That is, whatever the relationship or concept discussed before is, it is meant to show and display to those who can see it that the big thing to notice is God’s power. That is the means of what is happening. That is the excellent and beautiful thing in the picture. In other words, it’s like those yellow caution signs that you see in car windows that say “baby on board” because that parent wants you, as another driver on the road, to know that there are greater ramifications for your driving than just damaging another car. So it is with this relationship, that the goal is for all those within visible distance know that there is something greater in view – it is the excellency of God’s power that is the pertinent focal point. He is the main thing, and His power is the main source.
That is the purpose, or the “so what?”, so what is the “what?” (Don’t try too hard reading that sentence!) The “what” is that “we have this treasure in jars of clay…” Treasure in clay pots. Earthen vessels, as the old King James puts it. That is meant to conjure up an image. Think of precious gemstones and gold coins piled up together and put in an old dirty clay pot. There is a crusty shell of many uses that tell a story of that pot’s life. There may be a missing chunk here or there, a chip out of the rim or a crack that developed and was patched over. Maybe the lid doesn’t quite fit right anymore, or the handle is broken off. But open that jar, and what do you behold? Untold treasure! And so it is, that all of a sudden, the value of that pot becomes more irrelevant because it is so far surpassed by the treasure inside. That is the relationship that Paul is explaining in this comparison. Our lives, body, soul, and spirit, are the clay pots – but we, as Christ’s followers and servants, hold an immense treasure. It becomes so clear where our value lies and is derived from – it’s not our excellence or power or glory, its God’s glory.
And that is just the thing that brought this comparison, because we read first that “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.” What is the treasure that God has given? The light of knowledge. What knowledge? The knowledge of God’s Glory as we understand it and comes to us through Jesus. This is not a “head” knowledge, but a transformative knowledge. A redeeming knowledge. What a treasure! Mere mortals and humans having the radiant beauty of God’s glory shone into our hearts. In Colossians, Paul talks about the Gospel being a rich and glorious mystery, which mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Do you see that? Whatever “glory” we have and possess is a direct corollary to the glory of Christ that God has shone into our hearts. Like the clay pot, which has some value of course. We are not “valueless” as humans, in fact, we have great value because we are created in God’s image. But the fulness of that value is only truly seen and realized when we fulfill our purpose of being “bearers” or “vessels” that hold and show forth God’s glory.
It’s “sugaring time” in Vermont, where many of us take part in making maple syrup. I’ve put many gallons of syrup into containers in the past several weeks. The containers are nice, but empty they don’t realize their value or purpose. But filled, they are totally changed. The purpose of a jar is derived from whatever it holds. And the purpose of redeemed humans, who are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, is derived from the one who lives in us – that is Jesus Christ. We are clay pots. And we may be vessels of honor, but we are still vessels. We are never to forget that relationship! It is like the prophet Isaiah’s words: “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isa. 64:8) God has formed us for a purpose that is greater than ourselves. We have been made to carry “precious cargo” and that “precious cargo” is the light of the knowledge of God’s Glory through Jesus Christ. That glory is what we are to display, and “show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
Paul goes on in the chapter to say that’s why we face trials and hardships. “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 the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” Everything for the purpose of showing Jesus, and the glory of God! What a purpose! We are greatly privileged with this high calling! We are overwhelmingly blessed that God has chosen us, these jars of clay. This is all grace, and honor which resounds back to the Lord. May God bless you and enable you, a jar of clay, to display His worth!
Grace and Peace to you
Pastor Aaron Frost
March 31, 2023
