A Treasure in Clay
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” II Corinthians 4:7
Many times, when speakers stand before an audience to deliver a lecture on some subject, orators usually insert their own notions, ideas, or opinions about the subject matter. One’s notions, ideas, and/or opinions may not be the truth. Unless those in the audience are very knowledgeable about the subject, they can be deceived and led to believe something other than cold, hard facts. Politicians do this all the time. What they lead people to believe may or may not have detrimental consequences after the politician is sworn into office. However, for a preacher or teacher of God’s word to offer ideas, notions, and his or her own opinion about the gospel can definitely mislead the hearers and cause great damage which could affect the eternity of those who do not confidently know the truth of the gospel.
Paul was adamant in his desire to preach the truth of the gospel because he knew that was the only way of salvation for the lost. He was not out to please people, but to please God. He was not out to make a name for himself, become famous, or receive a huge salary or other perks of one who had such an important task. There were a few things about which he wrote that were based on his opinions, but he identified them as such, and these things were not concerning the doctrine of the gospel. Two examples of his opinions were 1. for widows to remain single (I Corinthians 7:39-40), and 2. a man or woman who has a spouse which is not a believer may choose to remain with the unbeliever or depart (I Corinthians 7:12-15). Everything pertaining to the gospel message that Paul preached was as God led because Paul was God’s servant.
From where did light originate? Did it not begin with God? (Genesis 1:3) From where did the Light of the gospel, Jesus Christ, begin? He had no beginning for Jesus was always with God even before the world was made. God created light before He created the sun, moon, and stars to illuminate the earth to give man the ability to see all around him the glory of God in creation. God then made available the light of Christ to shine upon the hearts of people to illuminate His glory and give them the knowledge of His love and mercy so that they could honor and love Him. To stumble in the dark of night is recoverable, but to stumble without the light of Christ in the darkness of the soul is irredeemable.
Those who preach the gospel are not supermen and not above all others in intellect, courage, or power. Rather, they are weak, mortal men, referred to by Paul as, “earthen vessels”, or “jars of clay”, whom God gives the strength and power to proclaim His word to a world of hungry souls who are weighed down with the burden of sin. Before his conversion to Christ, Paul was one of those hungry souls attempting to ease his sin guilt by persecuting followers of Christ. He had no knowledge of Christ nor of the gospel. When he met Christ, he was only a shell of a man, empty, without love or compassion, prideful, and seeking to please God in all the wrong ways. But God, in His mercy and knowing the potential of a determined man, caught him in the middle of his ignorant pursuit, arrested his heart, and filled him with love, power, and a compassion for those who were like he used to be–far from God without hope. Whatever amount of strength and power that Paul had was provided by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think next to being a parent, the hardest job is that of a pastor. He has to be, as Jesus told His disciples, “wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove” (Matthew 10:16b) or, as one of my former pastors used to say, “have a tough hide but a tender heart”. If there is anyone in the world who can identify with that old saying about pleasing people, you know, all some of the time, some all of the time, but not all, all of the time, and most likely not all some of the time, it is a pastor of the gospel. There’s always someone who disagrees and goes home on Sunday and has fried preacher for lunch. For those, let’s see you walk in his shoes for five minutes! God bless our preachers who are not afraid to stand and preach the truth to a people in need.