Fragile Earthen Vessels
One of the most encouraging scriptures in the Bible is “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7, NKJV).
Paul goes on to describe those earthen vessels as dying men, troubled on every side, perplexed, persecuted, cast down. Even though they never gave into despair, those men being used by God were constantly groaning under the burden of their bodies, waiting anxiously to be clothed with new ones.
God mocks man’s power. He laughs at our egotistical efforts at being good. He never uses the high and mighty. Instead he uses the weak things of this world to confound the wise. “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
Wow! Does that ever describe me. Weak, foolish and despised thing. A thing not very noble, smart or mighty. What insanity to think God could use such creatures! Yet that is his perfect plan and the greatest mystery on earth.
God has determined to accomplish his goal here on earth through men with many weaknesses. Abraham had weaknesses: He lied, and he almost turned his wife into an adulteress, but Abraham “…believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3). God calls us in our weaknesses, even when he knows we’ll do it wrong. He puts his priceless treasure in these earthen vessels of ours because he delights in doing the impossible with nothing.
