“We carry the treasure of the Gospel in our fragile jars of clay. This makes it clear that surpassing power belongs to God and not to us … We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair. …May Jesus’ truth, goodness, and beauty be revealed through our bodies.” (pp 2 Cor.4:7-10)
Lord Jesus, the vulnerability and honesty in Paul’s letters is a great gift to all of us. His freedom to acknowledge his weakness and dependence are so encouraging. Posing and pretending were crucified at Calvary. Sucking-it-up got replaced with living low where your grace pools. We only have so many bootstraps we can pull up, but we have unlimited opportunities to rely on the God who raises the dead (2Cor.1:9).
Jesus, help us be far more enthralled with the treasure inside us than vexed about pressures outside us. If your all-surpassing power will be shown most clearly through our weakness, keep us dependent. If your incomparable beauty will be most clearly revealed through hardships, silence our whines. If your redeeming purposes will be most fully realized through our brokenness, keep us humble. We have all eternity for things to be perfect; but now is the season to showcase your awesomeness.
With our palms up, we offer you praise for the treasure of the Gospel. The Gospel will win the day, our hearts, the nations, and the entire cosmos. Though there are seasons when throwing in the towel, finding another story, or just running away are quite attractive—where else would we go but to you, Jesus? Only you give words of life, sufficient grace, and living hope. May your voice be ten times louder than the seductions around us and the unbelief inside us. Hallelujah and So Very Amen.
