To conclude our week, a second reflection on the ‘now and not yet’ of the life of faith:
2 Corinthians 4:7-12Early in 1947 two young Bedouin shepherds were idling away the hours in a remote part of the north shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. They were throwing stones into caves to enjoy the sound they made when clattering into the empty caverns. Throwing into one cave, they noticed that the sound made was more of a dull thud.
Intrigued, they climbed up to explore the cave, and found some old jars – which are what the stones must have been hitting. These jars appeared to have some old manuscripts in them. The shepherds didn’t know what to do with them, so they took them back to their family and hung the scrolls out on tent poles while they decided. Their tribe couldn’t agree either, but after a while they were persuaded to try and sell them to a local dealer. The first one they approached in Bethlehem told them they were worthless and returned them. The second paid a few dollars for some of the scrolls, before then re-selling them: and eventually they caught the eye of a scholar, who recognised an ancient text on one of them… and the rest, as they say, is history.
It turns out that these ‘worthless’ items were in fact the (now world-famous) Dead Sea Scrolls. They contain some of the oldest manuscripts of biblical books, as well as other writings from the period, and are now considered to be one of the most important archaeological finds in history. Treasure in jars of clay, indeed.
…all of which segues neatly to today’s passage. The image which forms the heart of the text is one of the most loved in the New Testament, because it captures perfectly what many of us instinctively know to be true. The gospel is the greatest treasure in the world, something whose light we carry around with us in our hearts (as we saw yesterday). This gospel is not just beautiful and true, it is also unbreakable; however, we ourselves are constantly aware of how fragile we are. Like jars of clay, we might look strong on the outside, but we are easily broken.
It is a powerful metaphor for the ‘now and not yet’ of the Christian life. We are already citizens of heaven; we have a hope and a guaranteed future. But life is hard: we are often hard-pressed or perplexed, occasionally even persecuted. We often wish that our lives were stronger: if only we were steel jars, not clay ones! But, Paul says, there’s a reason for our fragility – it reminds us that the saving power is all God’s, not ours (v7). We don’t rely on ourselves, but on our unshakeable, unbreakable God.
Consequently, we can overcome the challenges we face (vv8-9) because it’s not all about us. We don’t face them alone, or try to defeat them in our own strength, but rather we rest on the all-surpassing strength of God, who enables us not to be crushed, abandoned or left in despair. Life is always at work in us – praise God!
Today, give thanks for this treasure that lives in your heart. And pray for any on your heart – others or yourself – to know the truth of these verses. By God’s grace (and God’s alone), we will overcome.