Beauty in a Jar of Clay
A message to women at the recent Heart to Heart women’s gathering.
“What does it mean that we have a treasure in jars of clay? ”
Second Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
Clay jars were containers created by skilled potters who took raw clay, shaped and moulded it as they desired, and then baked the clay until it was hard. They then painted, glazed, or decorated the jars for whatever purpose they had in mind.
In the olden times, especially according to the Israeli tradition, sacred scrolls or valuable documents were hidden in clay jars for safe keeping.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were kept in such jars of clay.
Pottery jars were beautiful and very functional, but they carried one thing in common: they were breakable and could only last for a time.
Contents could not be forever held in them.
They needed looking after taking care of to preserve them longer.
According to 2 Corinthians 4:7, we are like “jars of clay” with a “treasure” inside.
This means that our physical bodies are like those jars. We are made from clay (Genesis 2:7; And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.( Psalm 103:14).
Anything made of dust/ clay is not durable. But still, owners entrusted them with their valuable possessions.
God entrusted us with His valuable treasure. In these breakable weak, bodies, there is a TREASURE.
Our bodies are: beautiful , functional and yet breakable just like the clay jars and yet we carry a treasure that is forever lasting. (2 Peter 1:3).
Second Corinthians 4:6 defines that treasure as “the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”
The knowledge of the Gospel is rich, the knowledge of God is wealth that no one can remove from you.
Many women, even those who are believers, move around walking like beggars, like slaves. Why? Because of lack of knowledge of what they carry.
The world, society, our families, culture, values even beliefs have made you believe the lie that says women are weaker, they are not as valuable, they are not supposed to carry out certain duties, they age quicker, the list goes on.
And women have allowed the lies of the enemy to dictate how they see themselves as opposed to how God sees them.
Scripture doesn’t say, certain gender or people group are the only ones entrusted with the treasure. It speaks of all people.
The treasure we are privileged to hold is the knowledge of our Creator through His Son, Jesus Christ. Salvation is for all.
The knowledge of the Gospel is rich, the to knowledge of God is wealth that no one can remove from you.
After knowing God, receiving His Grace, what do you do with that treasure He has entrusted you with?
You are an ordinary pot, and yet expensive, bought with a high price by God through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
You beautifully and immaculately created and formed by the great Porter’s hand in His own image.
It’s a humbling thing to realise that we are clay pots.
Paul knew this. It wouldn’t be so surprising if he was talking about our lives before salvation, but he meant those already in the Faith.
The question is:
How can we be weak, fragile, chipped and cracked when we are supposed to have Christ?
How can a perfect God, a Holy God, entrust His TREASURE in an untrustworthy container?
God uses flawed, inadequate people to demonstrate His grace so that He alone gets the glory.
Look after yourself.
The jar is weak, breakable, fragile by nature and needs nurturing, looking after, polishing and cleaning for it to be able to keep up with the duties of keeping the treasure safe.
When you placed a valuable thing in a container and you really value that thing, what do you do? You look after the container. The container becomes just as important as the treasure.
Wigglesworth vs Kathryn Kuhlman.
Kuhlman overworked herself, neglected her health, her jar. She was more on earned about the next meeting, the next healing crusade. Good as it sounds, devoted to her call as she seemed,she forgot that she is a jar, breakable, fragile and weak. She developed major organ illness, her heart couldn’t cope any longer, she finally brought herself to an abrupt stop in the work of the Kingdom, died at a tender age of 68. Thousands if not millions of people got healed in her meetings, but she neglected her own health. Not only did the people lose a God-given blessing when she died early but she lost out on years of being a blessing to them and had the work of God in through her cut short.
Wigglesworth on the other hand paid attention to the relationship with His God, carried out his call well, and did his job as well as well as making sure that his jar of clay, is well looked after. He was known to be smartly dressed all the time, he wore well pressed suits.
A quote from the book, Secret of His Power by Albert Hibbert;
“Wigglesworth was very practical. I remember one occasion when I was about to leave his home after biding on a cold wet evening. He pout his hand upon me in blessing then counselled “keep that coat well buttoned, and get that collar up. Look after that body. It doesn’t belong to you it belongs to the Lord.And you will be answerable for it at the judgement “
Wigglesworth absolutely opposed the thinking of those who expected their Lord to heal them after doing as they liked with their bodies. He had no sympathy for those who were sick as a result of their own folly.
Feeling that an untidy appearance did not glorify God, Wigglesworth always dressed well. During the days of material depression, people criticised him for this habit. But when he left his plumbing business to engage in full time ministry, he had told the Lord “ the first time my shoes are down at the heel, or my britches need a patch, I shall go back to my plumbing business “
He died peacefully without illness. God took him.
One writer wrote of the account of his death. “Seven days later, Smith Wigglesworth journeyed to a minister's funeral. Along the way, he commented to his friends how "wonderful" he felt. He pointed out the different landmarks where he and Polly had visited or preached, then would tell of the great miracles that had happened while there.
When he arrived at the church, his son-in-law, James, opened the door and helped him into the vestry where a warm fire was burning. As he entered, he was met by the father of a young girl he had prayed for days earlier. The girl had been given up to die, but Smith had great faith for her healing. When he saw the man, he asked, "Well, how is she?" He was expecting to hear that the girl was completely delivered, but the answer came hesitantly. "She is a little better, a bit easier; her pains have not been quite so bad during the past few days." Disappointed by what he heard, Smith let out a deep compassionate sigh. Then his head bowed, and without another word or experiencing any pain, Smith Wigglesworth went home to be with the Lord. “. Age 88.
It grieves the Holy Spirit when we neglect our bodies, our health and well being. We were not created for disease or illness. God can heal. But He heals after disease has entered the body or the mind. It’s not His Desire to have us ill or sick. It’s not His desire to see us suffer. He would have us healthy and well by looking after ourselves, striving for optimum health and longevity, not succumbing to disease and death.
God has provided us with brains that can discover from the natural resources, what can keep our bodies and minds safe and away from diseases. What can keep our jars of clay longer and stronger, to continue the purposes of carrying the Gospel of light.
It is our fault to fall into sickness and disease through neglecting ourselves when God has provided.
When you are sick, or unhealthy in any way, you feel miserable about yourself.
You can even begin to despise yourself or the way you are.
Poor health is not only the presence of disease or illness but can be unfitness. Unfitness in not only being overweight but can be underweight.
Every single one of you is created with a beautiful body, healthy mind because you are created after God’s image. You must obey God by taking good care of what He has created, what He has given you and serve Him as a carrier of the treasure He put inside of you. Making sure the treasure is safe and will last longer.
Every single one of us has been created for a purpose by God. The treasure inside of you gives you that purpose. It empowers you to walk in that purpose.
What lies has the enemy been telling you? That has prohibited you from doing what God wants you to do?
Has he been saying:
You are too old
You are too fat
You are too ugly
You are too dark
You are too white
You are too thin
Your accent is heavy
You are not articulate
You are too tall
You are too short
You are a nobody
You are an orphan
You are damaged
You are not smart
You are not educated
You are weak
You lack confidence
You are a woman
If you don’t know, you are carrying a treasure entrusted to you by God Himself because He made you in His image, He sees you as a valuable person, you will begin to believe all of these lies. You will start to degenerate, live without purpose.
And ultimately die.
It’s time to rise up daughters of the Most High God. It’s time to make up for lost time. It’s time to reposition yourself, grab the moment, walk tall, never doubting, take a stance, have a voice and speak up, be bold and grab the bull by the hand and make a difference in your own life and help others.
It’s time to step up before the King, boldly, confidently without second guessing yourself like Esther did. She was an orphan, a Jew, but that didn’t stop her from grabbing that opportunity which plunged her right into the purposes of God for her life and others.
What are you waiting for?
Hope this has helped stir something inside of you today.
Next blog in a month’s time.
Blessings
