Christ In YouНамуна

Paul noted that the reason this inestimable treasure of Christ was being expressed through our common, cracked “earthen vessels” was so that the surpassing greatness of the power would be of God and not of ourselves (2 Corinthians 4:7). 

Paul, in this same letter to the Corinthians, told them of a time he had prayed for God to remove a thorn in the flesh that afflicted him. Paul noted, however, that this thorn was in place to keep him from exalting himself (2 Corinthians 12:7). 

The answer to Paul’s prayer was an unexpected but necessary “no,” and the reason he received this answer was because God’s grace is sufficient, and His power is perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

Paul’s weak, afflicted clay-pot life was becoming a vehicle that exalted God rather than himself. As a result, Paul rightly decided, 

“Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me…for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). 

Have you reached the same decision? 

Many believers become discouraged in the midst of affliction because they have underestimated the value of the treasure they contain. When we rightly regard this treasure of Christ as one in Whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (Colossians 2:3), our perspective shifts, and we begin to ask, “How is Christ, this great treasure, becoming more clearly expressed in my clay-pot life?” 

As a result, we become more willing to endure all affliction with patience and hope knowing that it is producing an eternal weight of glory that goes far beyond all comparisons (2 Corinthians 4:17). 

Are you rightly valuing the “treasure” of Christ contained within you? 

If you evaluate your current pursuits as an adequate accounting of your “treasures,” do they compare to the one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3)?

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