April 25, 2025
Hidden Treasure
“But 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
When I was in my 20’s and 30’s, there was a period in my life where every time I was offered a job or ministry opportunity, I had two offers from which to choose.
It happened for about a decade straight in both my journalism days and when I was in ministry. As someone who struggled with pridefulness, I began to misinterpret what was happening.
Instead of seeing it as the favor and blessings of God, I began to believe that it was about what I brought to the table. Both were very public careers with a level of notoriety to them, and I’m ashamed to say that I saw myself as somewhat of a shooting star. I’m just being honest, no matter how ridiculous it makes me sound.
But thankfully life has a way of humbling you. In my 40’s, God allowed calamity to come into my life and break me of my pride and arrogance. It still tries to rear its ugly head from time to time because of my old nature. But once you’ve been refined by the fire, you realize you don’t want any part of that smoke again. Some lessons you don’t want to revisit. My motto is: been there, done that, got the T-shirt, don’t want to go back again.
There’s a point where you realize that it’s not what I bring to the table but what God brings to the table that matters. And the sooner we learn that, the better off we are.
You and I are simply jars of clay. These jars of clay, or earthen vessels as one translation puts it, were nothing special to look at. They were ordinary, sometimes chipped and cracked pieces of pottery that blended into their surroundings. But it was what was contained on the INSIDE that made these jars of clay valuable. Back in biblical times, these ordinary jars of clay were used to store treasures and valuables.
In the same way, as believers in Christ, it is what’s on the INSIDE that makes us special. The moment that we believed, God gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of us. The Holy Spirit is God’s power living inside of us. As we rely on God for strength, God works through us, in spite of our frailties, weaknesses and shortcomings, to do exceedingly more than we could ever do in our own strength.
As one pastor friend said, “God can do more in five seconds of total surrender to Him than you can do in a lifetime in your own strength.” Unfortunately, I had to learn that lesson the hard way.
Now, as humans made in the image of God, it’s not biblical to say that we are completely worthless. Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” And God clearly gave every believer certain gifts of the Holy Spirit. So I am a child of God who has spiritual gifts and who is fearfully and wonderfully made. And so are you.
But every good gift is from God the Father and the gifts and talents He gives me are to build up the body of Christ and to bring glory and honor to His name.
It’s about building His kingdom, not mine. It’s about His glory, not mine. He is the potter, I am the earthen vessel formed from clay. The treasure isn’t the vessel itself. The treasure is what the vessel contains. May we never forget that fact. As John the Baptist once said, “I must decrease so that He may increase.”