Why God gives his most valuable mission to unworthy people like us

By Dean Collins

What was God thinking when he chose to put valuable treasure in clay pots?! We certainly know better. Valuable stuff needs to be guarded and protected. And when displayed, the valuable stuff should be set out in appropriate display cases. The apostle Paul’s words in today’s Bible reading give us pause, because they are frankly shocking. The God of the universe made his decision about where to place his valuable treasure. And he has entrusted it to us. The life and ministry of Jesus has been given to us.

Risky proposition

This decision by God to allow us humans to be the ones to spread the good news of his Son seems like a risky proposition. I can think of many reasons we could call it bad.

1. In the Garden Adam and Eve proved that we have difficulty following directions and being obedient.
2. Old Testament characters, including many we call heroes, demonstrated moments of weakness and at times poor decision making.
3. The disciples had trouble understanding and following Jesus, even though they traveled and learned from him for nearly three years.
4. The great evangelist and apostle Paul wrote many letters to help followers of Christ correct mistakes in doctrine and behavior.
5. I know me, and you know you. We have our weaknesses and failures when it comes to doing what God wants us to do.

Yet God calls us his image bearers from day one, and now we are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today. We are the ones called to disciple the nations and demonstrate the unity of the church by how we love each other. Our minds and behavior are to reflect Christ in all situations. But I suspect you have noticed that each of us has moments when we don’t.

Surpassing power

Paul said what we sometimes forget: The surpassing power of God belongs to God and not us. Only in our surrender to Jesus can this almighty power be unleashed and used for God’s glory. It would seem that if we are looking for a formula to follow it might be this: more of Jesus and less of us.

Paul’s experience may well have been more affliction, despair, rejection, and persecution than we experience, but his writing certainly suggests we will have our own share of difficulty. Each of us has our individual stories of seasons where there have been great challenges for us to navigate. Paul’s trials can encourage us as we remember that no evil forced upon us by others can stop the life of Jesus from being spread. His power and his grace are sufficient, and they are not dependent on us. But at the same time, our lives surrendered and used for God’s glory bring a powerful witness to others. We may not always recognize how God is working in us, because it is often easier to see what he is doing in someone else. We are sometimes blind to both our weaknesses and to how God uses them for his glory.

Renewed daily

Paul encourages us not to lose heart when we face various challenges, afflictions, and suffering—even suffering that wears us down. Paul’s reminder: “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

I certainly don’t understand God’s ways or his timetable. But there is great historical evidence in Scripture and in our personal observations of others that demonstrates how suffering surrendered to our Father above brings not just encouragement but also transformation to many.

Paul’s poetic phrases in this passage say it much better than I can:

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Lord, we acknowledge and surrender our vessels of clay. We know that we crack and even break. Thank you for loving and trusting us enough to carry the life of Christ and his testimony in us. Forgive us when we forget the valuable assignments you have given us and choose to focus on assignments with far less value. Take our brokenness and use it for your glory today. Our prayer is that someone will see Jesus in us even now.

Amen.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:7-18‬ ‭ESV

Photo by Aditya Joshi on Unsplash

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