Good morning. I would like to tell you the tale of two pots. The pictures below are how they appear:
The first pot is valued at $288,000. It is from the Ming dynasty, and you could purchase it at that price. However, you will have to pay another $1,000 for shipping. As far as anyone knows, it has never actually contained anything. It was never “used” for anything, other than to admire it as a work of art.
The second picture is of one of the clay vessels used to hold a small portion of the Dead Sea Scrolls. You cannot purchase that vessel, not at any price.
It isn’t the beauty of the second vessel that matters, it is what it contained that makes it priceless.
The Apostle Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10: 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.
We carry the greatest treasure of all, the Good News of Jesus Christ. We carry within us God’s message to the world of His plan of salvation. Outward appearance doesn’t matter, it is the value of what is inside that matters.
I could speak to you as a clay “jar”, one with more than a few cracks and chips. You too are another vessel of Christ’s Good News, so hang in there. You are priceless, valuable beyond measure. Why? Because Christ Jesus is in you, in all of His power and glory.
Vern