Focal passage: 2 Corinthians 4:5-18
Just a few weeks ago we celebrated the awesome power of God on display as He raised Jesus from the dead. God’s desire is not, however, for that resurrection power to be highlighted and talked about once a year in a Sunday morning church service in late-March or early-April.
God’s desire is for that resurrection power to be put on display all day, every day, everywhere.
God has ordained that our lives, as followers of Jesus, should be living displays of the resurrection power of the gospel.
Paul begins by telling the Corinthians that we are to proclaim Christ, not ourselves.
We aren’t saying, “Look at me and be like me.” Rather, we are saying, “I am throwing the spotlight on Jesus Christ – the resurrected and living Lord – to help you see that He is what you and I need.”
While we are imperfect displays – Paul calls us “clay pots,” which are fragile vessels – we are nevertheless the objects through which God has chosen to put His gospel and resurrection power on display.
The fact that this power and this gospel is displayed in “clay pots” says the value is not in the container but rather what is on the inside. As God works in and through us, His glory is put on greater and greater display (v. 15).
In general, clay pots were used for simple, practical, temporal purposes. What is amazing about the power of the gospel is that God has chosen to do His eternal, spiritual work through us. So, what do people see when they look at you?
Do they see a simple clay pot, satisfied, in your own strength, to do practical, temporal tasks that won’t last for eternity? Or, do they see a weak, cracked, imperfect clay pot filled with the resurrection power of the living Christ being used by God for His eternal purposes for the sake of His glory?
As a Christian, God has saved you through His Son and empowered you by His Spirit to be a beautiful display of His glory and power. Let’s be faithful displays!