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2 Corinthians 4:7-12“This Fragile Christian Life”
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But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is fromGod and not from us.
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We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, butnot in despair;
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 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
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Wealways carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also berevealed in our body.
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For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
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So then, death is atwork in us, but life is at work in you.Brothers and Sisters in Christ,[introduction]A couple of months ago Nathalie and I put together a soccer team to play in the CalvinCollege intramural soccer league. We gathered a group of seminary students and their spouses to have some fun and fellowship and get a bit of exercise after a long winter of studying.We signed our team up and the day arrived when we had to play our first game. It was awonderful day. The sun was shining, the grass was dry, and there was a cool, pleasant breeze blowing across the field.My team arrived a bit early so that we could warm up and I was feeling pretty good aboutour chances. A number of us had played some indoor soccer together and I knew that wehad some talent on our side. Maybe we’d have a bit of rust from a couple of months off  but I was sure that we’d be competitive.…And then the college team arrived…It was like a scene from an ancient Greek history book. Young bodies carved in stone andmarble. Tall and lean – they were the embodiment of youth and strength. Looking at themI realized that they had muscles in places that I didn’t think the human body had muscles.I looked at the college team and then I looked back to my own. Shorter, rounder, a little bit older, and slower. I realized then that maybe we were in over our heads.By the end of the game the college kids had barely broken a sweat. They ran and randrawing energy from what seemed to be an inexhaustible supply. My team, however, layin a broken pile at the side of the field. Battered, bruised, and exhausted we werewondering where our youth had gone and just how long ago we had lost it.My friends, as we begin to lose our youth we also begin to see the effect of time on our  bodies. We become weathered. We don’t heal as quickly. We’re not as fast or as strong as1
 
we once were and we begin to see that energy and power in those who are younger thanus rather than in ourselves.As with our bodies – so too with our faith and our walk with God.Our faith is seasoned by harsh and difficult experiences. Our walk with God is weathered by cynicism when the world around us seems to fall deeper and deeper into despair. Andour desire to share our stories of faith and the power of Jesus in our lives is frustrated anddiscouraged by young ears that don’t understand what we’re saying.Time catches up with our bodies and it catches up with our work in God’s kingdom. Wefind ourselves becoming more and more weathered, beaten up and discouraged and we begin to see just how fragile we really are.In our frustration we might find ourselves praying to GodGod, I’m tired.God, I’m weary.God, I’ve been working hard for a long time, it doesn’t help and I don’t see the pointanymore.God, this is no longer my world – I don’t understand it anymore – the work of the gospelis for the young and strong. I’m no longer useful.Why am I here?This morning we turn to the apostle Paul and find him answering some of thesequestions. Our doubts about ourselves are the same questions that his accusers in theCorinthian church have for him. They are questioning the strength of his faith, hisrelevance of his message for the church and his usefulness for future ministry.As we examine Paul we find that he defends himself by answering three questions thatform the basis of our discussion today:
1. Who are we?
 
2. What does that mean?3. Why are we here?1. Let’s begin with this first question
Who are we?
There are many ways that we could answer this question. We could answer it individually – by name. I am Dan. I am a student intern. I am a husband. I am a father. I am a son.We could answer this collectively. We are Christians. We are Canadians. We are membersof Second Christian Reformed Church. We are Ottawa Senator’s fans (well, maybe not.)2
 
The Bible gives us many ways to answer this question: We are the new Israel. We are thedescendants of Abraham. We are the people of God. We are the church. We are the sheepof His flock.Paul answers this question – who are we – with a fascinating picture
We are JARS OFCLAY!In verse 7 we read that we have this treasure – [the treasure of the light of the Gospelthrough Jesus Christ that we see in verses 1-6, the treasure of freedom that comes fromthe Spirit of God that we read about at the end of chapter 3] – we have this treasure in jarsof clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.We ask the question,
who are we
, and Paul’s answer is that we are jars of clay.Paul wants us to think about the image of the jar of clay.It’s helpful for us to know that these jars of clay were common household goods. To usesome more adjectives these jars were ordinary, plain, and inexpensive. We can think of these jars like the plates we use when company isn’t around. If one is broken we aren’t asconcerned with replacing it as we would be fine china.It’s also helpful for us to know that these jars of clay are relatively fragile. They arestrong enough to do the jobs they were intended for and they could last a long time butclay pots don’t require a great amount of effort to break.Common, ordinary, plain, inexpensive, and for the most part fragile.Paul tells us that this is who we are. This isn’t what we’re used to hearing.□My mother used to tell me that I was special. From time to time my wife agreeswith her.□We learn in our schools and in our culture that we are all important – that we have both something to contribute to and to be celebrated by our society.□We even read in Psalm 139 that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.And here is Paul calling us common, ordinary jars of clay.There are a couple of reasons why he does this.i. The first is to remind us that we are all the same. We each share the commonexperience of our humanity. In the context of this grand and glorious universe the thingsthat separate us are really rather small. The important thing for Paul is that we all, asChristians, share the same treasure – the same gospel, the same freedom, the same Spirit.3
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