I have to say that 2021 was a wild ride. Although things are beginning to open up again, our COVID troubles still linger. People who I am closely connected to have gotten the virus. A few have passed away. I got vaccinated, though I still can contract COVID; albeit, with a better chance of recovery. I keep hearing, “Omicron,” “Omicron,” “Omicron.” Spreads faster, less severe, get the booster; thus, there is still lots to process.
My living expenses have increased from food, fuel, and rent. I guess this is a common occurrence for many folks. We are all feeling the effects of inflation occurring in our economy.
But there were good times too. I was able to participate in the wedding of a good friend. It was a nice excursion to Myrtle Beach. I also had the opportunity to celebrate Advent in California. It was a great time to reconnect with family and friends.
If there is any resolution for 2022, it is being connected to the Triune God of the universe. We are to come to the Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ the Son on account of the Holy Spirit. Making sense and finding direction in these topsy-turvy days begins with this union.
Paul tells us,
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 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. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you (2 Cor. 4:7-12, ESV).[1]
Jars of clay are nothing spectacular to look at, but their contents have value. Ancients would use earthen vessels to store things like meat, flour, water, wine, oil, perfume, and whatever else that needed keeping in a container. Copies of Scriptures were even placed inside earthen vessels. (The cache of ancient biblical manuscripts referred to as the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered inside clay pots hidden within a cave).
Treasures inside jars of clay illustrates a contrast between fragile humanity and indestructible divinity. Every sort of affliction can befall the Christian, but they are never destroyed. They are like jars of clay containing a priceless treasure.
The priceless treasure is Christ. Paul writes, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 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” (2 Cor. 4:5-6).
Paul experienced many afflictions in proclaiming Jesus was the Christ. He was “opposed and reviled” by his own Jewish kin in the synagogue at Corinth, which ended in the apostle shaking the dust off his garments and focusing on evangelizing the Gentiles (Acts 18:1-11; cf. Lk. 9:5; Mk. 6:11; Matt. 10:14). A cursory read through the Acts of the Apostles demonstrates Paul’s efforts to share Christ to the world was met with violent opposition and imprisonment by others. This is the way the apostle describes his suffering for the sake of advancing Christ:
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. (2 Cor. 11:24-28).
Nevertheless, all the afflictions, from Paul’s perspective, were beneficial for getting across the message of Christ: “For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you” (1 Cor. 4:11-12).
Paul remained steadfast in proclaiming the good news despite all the troubles because he truly believed that God “who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence” and that the “light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:14, 17-18). Both the apostles Paul and Peter experienced martyrdom during the persecution of Cesar Nero.
COVID has been a consistent reminder of our mortality. Life can be cut short. If it is not a viral infection it is something else. Part and parcel to life in a sinful and fallen world is suffering illness, violence, famine, war and disasters. The golden bowl shatters. We are all one breath away from eternity.
All religions, science, and philosophies attempt to grapple with the specter of death. There are all sorts of immortality projects. Some try to extend life indefinity through science. Others try to immortalize their name or make their mark in this world for doing something so stupendous just so that even after the pass on others remember them for their greatness. Unfortunately, names are easily forgotten and monuments wither away over time. There is lots of advice for increasing longevity but nothing stands out as a sure winner for eternal life. Death persists and our immortality projects fail. Only Christ gives us the answer to the existential angst about inevitability of death. In Him we have hope of resurrection. [2]
Our lives are fragile like jars of clay, but we who are in union with Christ possess a treasure hidden in a field and a pearl of great prince. We may perish; yet, God raises the dead to everlasting life. When Christ appears a second time, the saints will be resurrected immortal, imperishable, incorruptible.
God even uses these troubling times to produce within us heavenly virtues that would never come about apart from suffering. Paul says,
Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. So we do not lose heart. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:16-18).
Our present suffering prepares us for life in the kingdom of heaven by producing within us the virtues of heavenly people. Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Rm. 5:3-4). It is the testing of our faith that produces endurance (Jas. 1:3). Suffering is for a moment but God will restore, strengthen, and establish the righteous sufferer (1 Pet. 5:10).
This priceless message within earthen vessels is to be poured out for others to receive. Everybody is welcomed to partake in what is being shared from the jar. Even though we are shattered into pieces like a vase dropped upon the floor, it is God who mends us, and puts us back together again.
— WGN
Notes:
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).
[2] The futility in immortality projects resolve the problem of death is explicated in Clay Jones, “Symbolic Immortality Projects Can’t Save You,” Christian Research Journal, 43, 2 [2020]: 10-15.
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