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
It was just an ordinary container. That’s what a couple in Concord, California found as they rummaged through an abandoned storage unit. Such an item is nothing to get excited about. If someone had stolen it, damaged it or thrown it away, no one would have lost a bit of sleep.
But then the couple took off the lid. Inside were old gold coins. They were rare and they were real. In a moment that container grew in value to $500,000 dollars. Not because it was so special, of course, but because of what the container contained.
You and I are painfully aware of how ordinary and plain we are in so many ways. In fact, if we catch each other in candid moments, we might tell each other all the ways in which we are not even adequate. That’s what our sin has done. It has ruined us. It has broken us. It has emptied us of value. By ourselves we are less than an ordinary container located inside an abandoned building.
But Jesus changed everything. His perfect life covered our sinful failures. His blood made us clean, new and forgiven. And now, through faith in him, we contain the gospel, the only message that changes lives forever.
That makes us priceless. Not because of what we are by nature, of course. But because of what we contain in Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m just a jar of clay, but you have placed inside me your priceless message of forgiveness. For this act of love, I thank you. Amen.
Living Hope Church 