Treasure In Jars Of Clay

There is a story that is often told about Thomas Edison and the development of the first lightbulb.  Although we don’t know if it’s historically accurate, I think the story carries a beautiful message.

The story says that Edison and his team had been working for many hours on a prototype lightbulb. Finally, after all their hard work, they had something they were ready to test.  Edison handed the fragile bulb to the youngest person on the team and asked him to carry it upstairs.  But as the young man climbed the stairs, he missed a step.  The bulb slipped from his hands and shattered.  Imagine that moment.  Hours and hours of work — gone in a second.  Perhaps everyone stood there wondering what would happen next.  But the story says that Edison simply said something like, “Well, we have work to do.”  So they started again.  Many hours later, another bulb was ready and here is the part of the story that I love.  If we were there, we might expect Edison to give the second bulb to somebody else.  But according to the story, he gave it to the same young man.  And he said, “Your work is not finished.”  There are so many times in our lives we feel that we failed or didn’t succeed in our goals.  And sometimes we are tempted to believe that because something failed, it must have been worthless.  But Scripture gives us a very different way of looking at our lives.  Paul says: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”  What a remarkable image. Treasure in jars of clay.  Not treasure in gold, something impressive and powerful.

Ordinary, practical, inexpensive containers – clay jars.  And Paul says: That is us.

And yet inside these ordinary vessels, God has placed something of extraordinary worth.

We Live in a World That Measures Success

One of the things we learn very early in life is how to measure success.  As children, we learn that success means getting the right answer, receive high marks at school.  We compete in sport or perform on stage.  But as children the world around us condition us to compare ourselves with other people.  And as we grow older, the measurements simply change.  We measure success by careers, houses, possessions and bank accounts.  In the church we measure by how many people attend our church, how successful our programmes are, how many people respond to our invitations or how much we can offer people.  And there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to do something well.  Excellence is good, hard work is good and achievement can be good.

The problem comes when success becomes the measure of our worth.  And that can quietly happen even in the church.  We can begin to think: “If we are growing, God must be pleased.” “If everything is going well, we must be doing the right thing.”  “If the church looks successful, God must be blessing us.”  And the opposite can become true as well: “If things are difficult, perhaps God has left us.”  “If numbers are down, perhaps we have failed.”  “If something doesn’t work, perhaps it wasn’t worth doing.”  But Paul reminds us that God’s measurements are not always our measurements.  The cross itself proves that.  If we had looked at Jesus on Good Friday and asked, “Does this look successful?”  The answer would have been no.  He was rejected, mocked, beaten and crucified.  His disciples had scattered, His followers were afraid and from the world’s perspective, it looked like failure.

But God was doing His greatest work.  That is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:

“The form of the Crucified puts a line through all considerations that take success as a measure.”  The cross changes the way we understand success.  Because in the kingdom of God, appearance is not the final measure of importance.

God Has a Way of Doing Significant Things Through Ordinary Lives

Paul says: “We have this treasure in jars of clay.”  Why would Paul choose such an image?  Because clay jars were ordinary but very useful in those times.  A lot like today’s Tupperware. They are not valuable because of their appearance.  But for what you can put inside of them.  And Paul says that the gospel — the treasure of Christ — has been entrusted to people like us.  Ordinary people, with ordinary lives, abilities and struggles.  People who sometimes get things right and sometimes get things wrong.  People who don’t always feel confident and who don’t always know what to say.  People who sometimes wonder whether what they are doing actually makes a difference.  And yet God chooses to place His treasure in ordinary hands.

That is one of the great patterns of Scripture.  When we take a look at all the great people that made a difference in the Bible we get someone like Moses, who didn’t think he could speak well.  David, the youngest of the family that looked after the sheep.  Fishermen called to become disciples.  And in our second reading, God calls Samuel.  A young boy that doesn’t even recognise God’s voice at first.  He hears his name and thinks Eli is calling him.  After a bit of confusion Eli understands what is happening.  He tells Samuel: “Go and lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”  Samuel is not presented as someone who has everything figured out.  He is simply someone who becomes willing to listen.  And God did amazing things through him.  Perhaps it is a good starting point for us – not ensuring that we have everything figured out but that we are willing to listen like Samuel.

The Treasure Is Greater Than the Vessel

Paul does not say that the clay jar is worthless but that the purpose of the jar is worth noticing.  It carries something.  The jars seem ordinary and is not the treasure – what’s inside is the treasure.  That distinction matters.  Sometimes we become so focused on ourselves that we forget what we are carrying.  The world around us makes us ask silly questions.  “Am I good enough?”  “Am I talented enough?”  “Am I capable enough?”  “Am I successful enough?”  “Do people notice what I do?”  But Paul redirects our attention.  The question is not simply, “How impressive is the vessel?”  The question is: “What treasure has God entrusted to this vessel?”  That changes everything.  Because if the treasure belongs to God, then the glory belongs to God.

Paul says: “The surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”  That means when something good happens through our lives, we can give God the glory.  And when something feels beyond our ability and we feel ordinary, we can trust God with it.  It also means we don’t need to spend our lives trying to prove how capable we are.  The gospel is not a competition or who can do it better than someone else.  The church is not a stage where we have to prove ourselves.  Christian service is not about becoming impressive people.  It is always about becoming and being faithful people.

Paul Does Not Pretend That Life Is Easy

Keeping Psalm 73 in mind from last Sunday we hear the same from Paul: “We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.”  We always have the “Why” questions.  We do not pretend that everything is wonderful.  Paul does not say: “Christians never struggle.” Or “If you trust God enough, nothing difficult will happen.”  Instead, Paul acknowledges reality – pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down – This is not a picture of a comfortable life.  But there is another reality running alongside it – not crushed, not driven to despair, not abandoned, not destroyed.

Paul is not denying the difficulty.  He is declaring that the difficulty does not have the final word.  Another important distinction.

Sometimes We Judge the Whole Story Too Quickly

Perhaps one of the dangers in our lives is that we judge everything to fast and from the wrong perspective.  We see one difficult chapter and assume we know the whole story.  We see a setback and call it failure.  We see weakness and assume there is no usefulness left.  We see a closed door and assume there is no future.  But Paul says: “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”  The “Day by day” part is important to notice.  God’s work in us is not always dramatic and sudden.  Sometimes it’s quiet, happens slowly and we don’t even notice it.  All the small things – a conversation, a prayer or a word of encouragement.  A parent who keeps loving and a grandparent who keeps praying.

Someone who chooses faithfulness when nobody is watching.  The world might not call these things significant – but God does.  Because the measure of our lives is not simply how much we accomplish, but what God is able to do through us.

We Are Carrying Something That Matters

Quickly take a moment to think about the people who have influenced your own faith and the way they did it.  Was it famous people? No, it was ordinary people that did ordinary things.  A parent, teacher or a friend.  And they changed our faith in small ways – with a prayer, by believing in us and encouraging us – by sharing the treasure inside of them.  They may have thought they were doing ordinary things but saw the treasure inside of them.  Often, we underestimate the significance of the ordinary things we do.  You may never know what a kind word means to somebody.

You may never know how your example affects a child.  You may never know how much courage somebody receives because you simply took the time to listen.  But that does not make it insignificant.  The treasure that we carry inside of us comes from God.  And God can use any clay jar to be vessels for His treasure.

“Your Work Is Not Finished”

And this brings me back to that story about Edison.  Imagine that young man standing there, looking at the shattered bulb.  I can just imagine the thoughts that went through his mind.  Something like: “I have failed.” or “They will never trust me again.”  But the story says Edison gave him another opportunity.  It is a beautiful picture of the grace of God.  Not because failure doesn’t matter or because our actions have no consequences.  But because one setback does not mean God has finished with us.  The treasure inside us will remain.

Conclusion — The Treasure Is Still There

We began with a story about a broken lightbulb.  All the hard works and effort shattered in tiny pieces on the floor.  Sometimes we have the same shattered lightbulb feeling in our lives.  That we just don’t measure up to the world and everyone around us. Paul reminds us that we’re all jars of clay but that God entrusts us with treasures.  We are simply the vessels He has chosen to carry it.  So let us stop measuring our lives only by what the world can see.  Let us stop believing that only impressive things matter.  And instead, let us ask: What has God placed in my hands?  And then let us carry it faithfully.  I know and believe that we can never imagine how far that treasure will travel.  Because the treasure is greater than the vessel.  And the power belongs to God.  Amen.