February 6th, 2025
Written by: Kerri-Ann H.
“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 this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
There’s a tendency in our human hearts to measure our worth
by our abilities, our strengths, our appearance, and even our possessions. It’s
a habit taught to us by our culture, which places the highest value on talent,
strength, beauty, and wealth. Yet none of these things have the capacity to
weigh our value, because our value can never be contained by things as fleeting
as physical beauty or as slippery as talent, which can be lost in a moment should
we experience a catastrophe. And so God measures us using quite a different
tool because He sees things from a view we’re not privy to.
In fact, God has a habit of using the most humanly
insignificant things for the most remarkable purposes. And in line with this
principle is His habit of packaging treasures in the humblest of outfits. A
quick review of biblical accounts highlights this theme clearly, because from
the onset of time, God chose to create mankind—the masterpiece of His
creation—out of the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7). Then when it came time to
deliver His people from Egypt, He hid His chosen deliverer in a simple,
homemade, handwoven basket sailing down the Nile. And when He wanted a king
after His own heart, He placed His anointing on a young boy who spent his days
out in the fields, surrounded by sheep. And when it was time for Him to come to
the world as Saviour, He allowed Himself to be born in a stable with a trough
full of hay for His bed. It is, therefore, no surprise, though
unexplainable and undeserved, that He would choose you and me to walk around
with the unmerited title of sons and daughters of God, co-heirs with Jesus,
carrying within us the light of the world—heavenly treasure hidden in earthen vessels.
It is both a mystery and an amazing truth that God chooses to
use us, creatures made from the dust of the earth, mere jars of clay, to carry
His glory—the treasure of His Gospel. Like the early disciples and apostles,
God uses us to share the gospel not on the merit of who we are but on the merit
of who He is. He uses us for His purposes and for His glory, only. So when He
places us in hostile environments or in harsh circumstances, He has a purpose
in mind that goes beyond our mere survival, and involves Him being glorified in
us and through us in ways we can’t fathom.
It’s easy to start feeling small when we compare ourselves to
people we consider to be great. And the smallness and inadequacy we feel may
make us tremble when it comes to being used by God in our homes, at work, at
school, or in church. However, when we have a God-centred perspective on life,
we begin to realize that we are all a part of God’s story. The story He has
been writing since the beginning of time. But God, the masterful author,
doesn’t write stories the way we would write them, with heroes that look like
heroes from the outside. Instead, He uses His incredible redemptive power to
transform the basest of materials—a lump of clay—into a most useful instrument
and place it in just the right circumstances to reflect His light and
glory.
Your life is a vessel that the Lord has designed specifically for His use. Surrender to His capable hands today and watch how He uses you for His glory.