2 Corinthians 4:7-12
Priceless Jewels in Paper Bags

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

New Revised Standard Version

Sometimes life seems more fragile than others, and this week is one of those for me. Allergies have had me coughing night and day for more than a week, but my doctor was right when she told me that, aside from my allergies, my asthma, and my hypertension, I was in great health. Others in my life are not as fortunate. One of my coworkers has traveled north to sit with his father as he dies of cancer. A close friend is recovering from a double mastectomy, receiving chemotherapy, and now fighting an infection in one of the surgical incisions. Another coworker has a lump in her breast that doctors are testing and watching. There are many others not quite as close to me who are fighting cancer, depression, and other diseases. Even as I try to lift up those concerns to God in prayer, wanting to trust God's power and God's Will to work in those lives, I am stunned by how frail we really are.

As one coworker of mine put it, before he died in 2000, "growing old isn't for sissies."

A member of my staff, before he died of cancer in 2001, was trying hard to hide his anguish at leaving behind his wife, his two daughters, and his two grandchildren, and told me "if I had known grandchildren were so much fun, I'd of had them first."

Times like these make me angry at myself for those times when I foolishly felt like I was superhuman, eager to work all-nighters on important projects and convinced there was nothing I couldn't do if I set my mind to it. How stupid of me!

Paul knew those feelings, but Paul had already worked past those concerns. He was very aware of his frailty, from his mysterious "thorn in the flesh" to his frequent imprisonment and attempted executions. At the other side of human weakness, Paul saw God's immense power that God chose to put into us.

I love Paul's analogy! "Clay jars" were the disposable containers of his day, quickly made but easily broken. Paul is telling us that God is carrying priceless jewels in paper bags, so that our value has nothing to do with us and everything to do with God. Our strength doesn't come from us but from what God gives us, and God's strength will see us through this life and into the next life.

Our work here is God's work, and our strength and wisdom to accomplish that work is God's strength and wisdom. Our frailties, and even our shortcomings, are opportunities for God's power and presence to work miracles. Our responsibility is to trust God!