The Final Goal: Fragile Clay Jars

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Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

We ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. – 2 Corinthians 4:7

You might have been called many things in your life. But I wonder if anyone’s ever called you a “fragile clay jar”?

That’s what Paul, one of the Bible writers, said life is like for Christians. Christians are “fragile clay jars containing this great treasure [the good news of Jesus Christ]. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7). When people accept the truth of the Bible and start to
trust Jesus they should no longer live for themselves, but for the God who saves them (v.10).

So what about Christian footballers? Are they to be idolised for their skill, wealth and influence? This is what Ze Roberto, the Brazil left winger, has to say: “You shouldn’t look at us in this way. The only one who never sinned was Jesus. We are all human. We all sin but Jesus came for sinners. . . . Don’t look at people, look at Jesus.”

Ze Roberto seems to understand the reality of living the Christian life. No one is perfect, and we continue to do things which show we don’t trust God completely. But the role of the Christian, whether we are great footballers or simply spectators, is to point people to the Lord Jesus who died for us in spite of our sins. —Jon Lindsay

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
—The apostle Paul in Philippians 4:13