2 Corinthians 4:7-12

2 Corinthians 4:7-12  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 

As Christians, are we too much alive to this world?  Paul said for the sake of the Holy Spirit's blessed ministry to the world, he is like a jar of clay, that which can be easily destroyed, fragile in nature.  He said, I am hard pressed on every side; the vicissitudes of life are overwhelming to me.  It seems as if I am spreading life to everyone, but my personal life is like death.  I struggle every day in my physical body, in my emotional well-being.  My enemies are always out to destroy me, to harm me, to belittle me.  My life is like an incessant march toward the grave.  My personal desires, wants, and security are not mine to claim, for I have given them to God: I am like a dead man.  But Paul concludes, I am sacrificing my life freely that I might give life to the lost, that they might hear and see the ministry of the HOLY SPIRIT through my life.  

Is this our desire?  Is this our compulsion?  Do we so much want God's life in us that we are willing to forgo the embellishments of life or even the essentials of life such as physical safety and security?  Are we willing to live God's life rather than our own?  Are we willing to accept God's voice, God's will, over our own voice and will?  I am sure some of the difficulties Christians experience in life are a call on their lives by God to rededicate themselves to him.  Christians, because they are human, tend to concentrate on themselves when everything is going well in their lives.  When they have enough money in the bank, enough health to feel good, enough security to know that they are okay, they tend to orient themselves back into the world; the world becomes more significant to them than it should be.  The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  (John 12:25)  They start to look for that next great relationship, that new car, that next remodeling project, that next house, that exciting trip.  They start to allow self-interests to power their lives rather than seeking God's direction.  

I know I am like that.  But difficulties, sickness, insecurity tend to refocus our lives.  For sure, most of us do not live the harrowing life that Paul lived.  But even though Paul experienced such a life, he wanted us to know that through Jesus Christ, he was more than a conqueror.  He said that many times he was perplexed, persecuted, struck down, and hard pressed, but God always gave him the victory because he was never crushed, abandoned, destroyed, or left in despair.  Paul knew God was using his difficult life as an instrument to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to a sick and dying world.  Paul literally revealed the WORD OF GOD, THE BREATH OF GOD to a sinful, gentile world through his lifestyle, his choices, his words.  Are we willing to be like Paul, willing to be brought low so that Jesus Christ might be manifested in our lives?  Are we willing to go through struggles so that Jesus Christ might be glorified?  Are we willing?  Paul depicts himself as an earthen jar, that which can be easily cracked and destroyed, but which also can contain the marvelous, supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit.  We are also earthen jars, but God's glory, his voice, his breath will be manifested in those earthen jars if we are willing, if we yield control to the Potter.