Jars of Clay

by Adam Kronberger / Superintendent

The longer I live this one life God has given me, the more the pile of mistakes I make seems to pile up. I hope the rate the pile grows is decreasing, but there are days I wonder. I know I have been bought with the price of the blood of Christ and I am a new creation. I also know only Jesus was perfect, and through His grace and forgiveness what He asks of me is to simply follow Him. And yet the mistakes at times seem to continue.  I am reminded of the apostle Paul who lamented in Romans 7:21, “so I find this law at work: although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” Yet he also declares in 1 Corinthians 5:57, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So often I try to fix my mistakes of my own effort. This will always be a losing effort as the complete holy law cannot be fulfilled. Yet there are short seasons where I feel I have improved myself due to my disciplined efforts apart from God. In those moments, only my selfishness and stubbornness are honored. I sometimes wonder what does that victory from God look like? Paul paints a beautiful picture in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7:

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

These verses help me realize that I am simply a jar of clay. I am brittle and easily broken. This jar of clay is full of cracks through the mistakes my flesh stumbles into. I cannot fix these cracks. Yet God has put his light in my heart, and in this cracked pot of clay. Without the cracks, the light would only brighten this small container. But the ironic benefit of the cracks is that they allow the light inside to shine out to others. And because of the cracks, it is clear that the light does not come from me, but from a more eternal and powerful source.

It is miraculous that God can use the cracks in our life to shine His light to us and through us to others. Paul remarks in Romans 6 how we should respond to how God uses our mistakes to shine His light. Our attention should shift from the mistakes and focus on His light. This is true victory. The cracks may remain in this life, but His light will continue to shine forever. Let your light shine today... his perfection in your imperfection.​

– Adam Kronberger / Superintendent