Jars of Clay

This was written for my Church's Newsletter, but i thought it would be good to post on here as well.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

One truth God has been teaching me for a while is that he delights in weakness. God loves to take the times we are weak and use them for his glory. He hungers to take our weak moments and show us that he is near. In the text above, Paul is saying that the treasure, which is the gospel, housed in jars of clay, which is us. Jars of clay were simply what they sound like pots made of clay. They were not perfect. They were not the strongest. They were breakable. But, God put his treasure in these breakable jars so that his glory would be seen. In their breakability and weakness, he would be their strength. In the last year our congregation as a whole and as its individual parts has been pushed to the breaking point. We have been hard pressed on every side. We have been perplexed. We have been persecuted. We have been struck down. However, we have NOT been crushed. We have NOT been despaired. We have NOT been abandoned. We have NOT been destroyed. None of this has been by our own power or strength, but by the Power and Strength of the Lord. “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We have been weak and near breaking, but Christ’s power is made perfect in our weakness. IF we can rest in his power and his strength, then he will continue to bind us together and heal us.

Doorless Cafes and Stained Glass

My favorite painting is by Edward Hopper. It is called Nighthawks. It is a scene of a New York Café with 3 customers and 1 man working behind the counter. Two of the customers, a man and a woman, are sitting close together with their hands almost touching. The other customer is a man sitting on the other side of them all by himself. The interesting and intriguing part of this painting is that there are no doors into the café. The interior of the café is well lit and inviting, but no one can come in or leave. The refreshment and relaxation the café could offer to the outsider is unavailable. People can only pass by and look in but never participate. This café is for insiders only.

Another piece of art that I really appreciate are the two giant stained glass windows in our sanctuary. They have vibrant color and detail. Each of them portrays an awesome story from Scripture. One shows that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and the other shows his appearance to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection. These are beautiful windows, but that is when they are viewed from the inside. When you look at them from the outside, they appear dull and lifeless. The vibrant color is not seen. The detail cannot be perceived. They convey the message that their beauty is only for those on the inside, not for the passerby. Similar to the café in the Nighthawks painting, these windows are only for the insiders. Yet, Christ told us that we must be focused on the outsider. He came to seek and save the lost (those outside). He told three parables in Luke 15 about this focus. The searcher’s focus in each parable (lost sheep, lost coin, lost son) was on finding what was lost. The searchers did not stop until they found what was lost. The search was their sole focus and priority. The father scanned the horizon continually until he saw his son returning. Then he ran (which was a no no in his day for him to do) to his son. The searchers were relentless in their pursuit. When we look at our beautiful stained glass windows, let’s appreciate their beauty, but we can’t stop there. We must be motivated to focus on bringing more people inside so that they too can appreciate their beauty. Our pursuit of those God loves (all people) must be relentless. We cannot become a café for the insiders only; we must be a loving family for outsiders to meet God and become a part of his family.