Jars of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:6-7

 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

As we go through life, either we or someone we love will have health problems. It's the nature of life. Our bodies age, accidents or illness happen. Scripture says our bodies are “jars of clay”, that is to say, something fragile and temporary. We are meant to remember that permanence is God's and God's alone. “The surpassing power” to work change for the world is because of God and belongs to God. This is the knowledge of God in the face of Christ. (verse 6)

How can this be? God's power is made perfect in weakness. The perfect illustration of this is Jesus, God's own Son. He came to live as a human being. What is more vulnerable than an infant? He grew up in a working class family, so knew the pangs of hunger, the aches after a long work day. He knew temptation, and fatigue. And he suffered the ultimate vulnerability and weakness in death on a cross. And then showed the ultimate power of God in the Resurrection.