“For God, who said, “‘Let light shine out of darkness,”’ make his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
~ 2 Corinthians 4:6
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever seen a clay jar? Clay jars are made from softened, kneaded mud that is being turned using a special wheel and then fired for a specified period of time in a very hot kiln. No two clay jars end up being exactly alike. Each clay jar will invariably have a flaw or flaws. Your bodies are like clay jars. No two bodies are exactly alike. When Paul was living on planet Earth – which is about 2000 years ago, clay jars were innocuous, valueless household items. When Paul was living on planet Earth, clay jars were made to either store or hide treasures or to hold water, olive oil, and other things. A clay jar is not something that attracts attention. Paul – in 2 Corinthians 4, used a clay jar to illustrate the frailty and unworthiness of the physical body of a guy or gal. Paul wanted to communicate to the Christ-follower guys and gals who were living in the city of Corinth that what is valued by God is the heart that is inside the physical body of a guy or gal versus the physical appearance of the body of a guy or gal. A clay jar is an inanimate object. A fired clay jar will begin what it has been made to do empty; it is not made with a heart. Guys and gals use their hands to make clay jars. Clay jars are made by guys and gals for guys and gals to use for putting something inside them. Your physical bodies are animate. Every physical body is formed with a heart. God makes the physical bodies of all guys, gals and kids. God puts a heart in each physical body of a guy, gal and kid so that He will have a place to live as God the Spirit when . . . Satan – who is the god of ages, may be able to darken the mind that God has put in the physical body of a guy, gal or kid that He has formed. A darkened mind will intercept the gospel’s Good News – which is centered on the agonizing death of Jesus Christ on a cross and His glorious resurrection from a tomb, from ever reaching the heart of a guy, gal or kid. The mind of a guy, gal or kid that has become darkened will cause a heart to become lost. A mind that is not darkened will allow the heart to renounce any and all secret and shameful things that it has harbored and is harboring. A heart that is being enlightened is being sanctified as God – as God the Spirit, cleanses it.
Has your grandpaa done a good job of messing with your minds? Your grandpaa sometimes feels as if Paul is messing with his mind. Paul’s comparison of a clay jar to a mortal body does make sense to your grandpaa. During the years that Paul was living on planet Earth, not every fired clay jar was being used to store or hide something in them. Some clay jars were empty. Some bodies appear to be completely empty or heartless – as some guys and gals do not seem to care what kind of lifestyle that they live. Some bodies convey having temporal value – as some guys and gals pursue trying to live moral lives. If a heart is not like the heart that is found in verse 6, “For God, who said, “‘Let light shine out of darkness,”’ make his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”, the heart is being blinded by the god of ages. If a heart fixes itself only on things that eyes are seeing, the heart is being fooled or blinded by the god of ages to do what is only temporary or earthly to do – such as being philanthropic, pursing wealth, chasing self-sufficiency, etc. If a heart fixes itself on things that the eyes are not seeing, the heart is listening to the voice of God – as God the Spirit, and the heart will be rewarded with a spiritual reward of eternal life. In his second letter to the Christ-follower community of guys and gals who were living in the city of Corinth, Paul wants these guys and gals to know that their mortal, physical bodies will be on every side hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted and struck down but that their lives will never be crushed, need to despair, abandoned and destroyed – as they had Jesus – as God – as God the Son, living in their hearts and that He would always be there to help them through whatever they might be going through. This is the same today for every single Christ-follower guy, gal and kid who has Jesus Christ living in his or her heart as He is always there to help His ‘clay jars’ who He is personally molding.
If it was not for God’s grace and mercy, you and every single other Christ-follower – such as your dad, ma, Uncle Chris, Aunt Lynn, grandpaa, grandmaa, . . . would be forever blinded by the god of ages. This is something that should cause the hearts of guys, gals and kids to overflow with thankfulness for what God has done for them. The physical bodies of guys, gals and kids may fail but the hearts of guys, gals and kids who have accepted through making a decision of faith in what Jesus Christ did when he suffered and died on a cross and when he arose from a tomb will have a Jesus light shining through their bodies that other guys, gals and kids will see and which will . . . then there are guys, gals and kids who will never notice the Jesus light that is shining through a Christ-follower guy, gal or kid as they have had a veil pulled over their minds so that they cannot see the gospel. These guys and gals were formed to perish with the god of ages. Because God controls the life of each guy, gal and kid who He has and is going to put on planet Earth. No guy, gal or kid who is a Christ-follower is to take credit for what God has done or is doing in his or her life. The mortal bodies of your grandmaa and grandpaa are wasting away but inside their mortal bodies, their hearts are being constantly renewed by God’s grace. Is the Jesus light shining inside your ‘clay jar’ bodies?
2 Corinthians 4 (772)