Jars of Clay

2 Corinthians 4

This text should be ingrained on the heart of every senior! "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." This reads easily but is not so easy to grasp in reality. We are constantly bombarded with the seen, the reminders that we are wasting away. We are told we must be concerned about the gray hair, the balding, and the wrinkles. I once taught an intergenerational class for the children at church. Its purpose was to connect the youngsters with the oldsters. To get it off the ground I asked the children how they could tell when someone was old. They gave me 17 signs. They didn't miss a thing--not even the liver spots.

Paul is telling us not to be concerned about the deterioration. Obviously he would have us take reasonable care of our bodily health, but not to focus on the things that really don't matter. For in doing so we miss the inner vitality of being renewed day by day. I have found that as I age I have less confidence in my own abilities and become more dependent on the care of the Good Shepherd. Each day he becomes more real to me and I am more aware of his goodness. As war and rebellion break out in different parts of the world, and snowstorms blanket the ground, and earthquakes tumble huge buildings and shake the very ground we stand on, I am assured that God is in charge of the world he created and I need not fear. The unseen becomes very real!

But Paul is making another point as well. It is in our fragile state that Christ is able to shine through. In our prime, it is easy to assume that people succeed because they are gifted, have the breaks, know the right people rather than because of God's goodness. When older people become more isolated, can no longer work as hard as they used to or lose it mentally it is much easier to realize that something/someone beyond the persons themselves is keeping it all together. Christ is allowed to shine through in situations that would normally defeat people. Paul says "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that his 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."

When our focus in on the unseen and we are being renewed inwardly day by day, the light of Christ shines through our jars of clay. In this we can see our purpose, we become vessels of light in the world of darkness.

How are you renewed day by day?