This summer, I got a smoker and have been experimenting with different foods. While the brisket has been amazing, the ribs - both pork and beef - are delicious. The smoked mac-n-cheese is fantastic. The pulled pork, the meatloaf, and the tri-tip are not hurting my feelings, either. What never seems to match the food, though, is the presentation. I just do not possess the same skills in plating food that I have in making it. I have served these meals on paper plates, plastic plates, glass plates, Tupperware, and napkins. We have eaten with our fingers, plastic utensils, and silverware. To date, I have not received any complaints. Nope, not one. Why? Because the serving dish doesn't really matter if the food is great.
There is a sentence from the Bible that makes me think of this principle.
"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not ourselves." 2 Corinthians 4:7
The treasure? Nothing less than the power of God through the Gospel. That treasure is in all who know Jesus - we have THIS treasure in a jar of clay. May I make a confession? I think too much about the jar and not enough about the treasure. Whenever I do, I go wrong and miss my opportunity. I miss my chance to lean into friendship with God, who both trusted and entrusted me with THIS treasure. I miss my chance to join God in something he has been working on since before the foundation of the world - his rescue plan called redemption.
To take my confession one step further, I can trace every sin, every stumble, and every bad choice to an over-emphasis on the jar and an under-emphasis on the treasure. Can you relate to this?
May I make a couple of observations?
First, this is about being close to Jesus. In the context of these words from the Bible, we have been given the gift of ministry, of been connected to the vine in such a way to produce the fruit of that vine. The more focus I put on the jar, the more buried the treasure. The more focus I place on the treasure, the more the jar gains its value by being the carrier of something great, something eternal, and something eternity changing. When we are close, God gets the credit. The treasure in this jar shows that this all-surpassing power is about God and not ourselves.
Second, this is about being a steward of grace. God did not place the treasure inside you or me for the sole reason that we would house a treasure, but rather that we would share the treasure. One of the most powerful sentences in the Bible? "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8).
Third, this is about becoming resilient. Resilience is such a necessary commodity in the life of those who are friends of God. The next several sentences that follow the "Treasure in the Jar" tell us that when we get this right, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Can you see it? When life is about the jar, pressing on each side crushes; when life is about the treasure, pressing on each side cannot crush. When life is about the jar, perplexing causes despair; when life is about the treasure, perplexing causes no despair. When life is about the jar, persecution leaves us alone and abandoned; when life is about the treasure, persecution unites us with God and others. When life is about the jar, we are struck down and destroyed, but when life is about the treasure, we are not destroyed - we are resilient.
Why? Because Jesus is indestructible! Let me encourage you - focus more on the treasure than the jar.