“We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to 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 manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
‘“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” [1]
Do you ever get discouraged? That’s a silly question. Of course, you experience times of discouragement. All of us become discouraged at times. Occasionally, we may encounter someone who appears to have it all together; at least they appear to be on top of everything. When we meet people who give the impression that nothing is lacking in their life, it is natural that we can feel incredibly inferior as we mentally compare ourselves to them. However, when we discover what is really going on in their lives, we may gain a different perspective from what we thought at first. We learn that their buoyant optimism often masks what is really going on; we discover that they are actually denying reality. And none of us really want to deny reality.
I need you to be honest. Do you qualify as one who has some legitimate complaints? If that is true for you, then you are in good company. This message is for you. Do you ever feel afflicted? Are you now, or have you ever been perplexed? Do you know what it is to be persecuted—really and truly persecuted? If you experience any of these conditions, you are definitely in good company. You see, that is precisely how the Apostle to the Gentiles described his life.
On top of these challenges, Paul spoke of “a thorn in the flesh” that bedeviled him throughout his years of service to Christ [see 2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10]. We have no way of knowing what this condition might have been, though we can speculate. There is some reason to imagine that Paul suffered with a serious eye disease. Other scholars have opined that Paul suffered from epilepsy. Still others have considered that Paul was struck down with malaria, or some blood disorder such as thalassemia. What we do know is that the Apostle pleaded with God three times to be set free, but God did not deliver him.
I am deeply sensitive to the problems people face on an ongoing basis. Devastating financial reversal, catastrophic illness, chronic health concerns, crushing family disputes, divorce that strips us of hope—these and other pressures come into the life of the people of this congregation more frequently than you might ever imagine. My two daughters struggled with a chronic debilitating disease throughout most of their adult lives. My daughter now living in the States still struggles with the effects of Lyme disease, a disease so devastating that it has compelled her to go on long-term disability. The disease my daughters experienced press down on their mother and me, driving us to pray for God’s deliverance, just as Paul pleaded with God to deliver him.
Rather than attempting to catalogue the challenges that come into the lives of all, I’m going to ask you to take a moment to identify the most significant problem you are now facing. Then, I’m going to ask you to honestly answer the question, “Am I successfully coping with this challenge? Am I truly facing the challenge that looms before me?”
The misfortunes of life do not come to all equally, but no one is immune to trials. When you are the one suffering through one of the trials of this life, you may be tempted to believe that the game is rigged, that the dice are loaded, or that someone is dealing from the bottom of the deck. The important thing is not to rage against your condition or the situation that now weighs you down; rather, how you respond to the challenges you face is what is crucial. Trials will keep coming, but what differentiates us is our response to the challenges we face? What are we to do when trouble and trials come?
Reading the events that defined the life of the Apostle Paul following his conversion to Christ, one could be quickly convinced that if ever a person had reason to deny reality, if anyone had a reason to be discouraged, it was this man. It would be tempting to say that Paul had no reason to rejoice—ever. His life appears to have been one trial followed by another trial. Attack after attack by those opposed to the Faith seems to have been standard fare for the Apostle. I doubt that any of us can even begin to imagine such a life. Certainly, I can’t say that I’ve ever faced what this man faced.
The Apostle writes of his life following the time he met the Risen Saviour. He was forced to defend his reputation because of what others were saying about him. You can read Paul’s defence of who he was and the constant challenges he faced because of his service for Christ. At one point, some people were presenting themselves as Apostles; they were denigrating Paul’s calling and service while exalting their own importance to the churches. They did this to make themselves look better than they were.
Therefore, Paul was compelled to write in defence of his service before the Lord. “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant” [2 CORINTHIANS 11:22-29].
Do you suppose that you can relate to what the Apostle faced? I know that I can’t personally relate to what he was compelled to experience because of his commitment to follow the Risen Son of God. When I’m discouraged because I may face pressures arising from some who oppose what I am teaching or because of the vicissitudes that each of us will face, I need but recall what the Apostle to the Gentiles faced. Doing this, I am able to realise that I do have more that I can yet give—more energy, more firmness, more courage. Thus, we recognise the phrase that overarches all that Paul faced as revealed through the title of the message: We do not lose heart!
We do not lose heart! That phrase should grip our heart, encouraging each of us during those dark times when we face challenges, when we encounter difficulties, when we imagine that we can’t give any more because we have no more to give. And you know full well that each of us will face such trying times! When everything seems to scream that we need to quit, when everything seems to demand that we make excuses for the reason we simply cannot go on, we need to call to mind this phrase that is our text: We do not lose heart!
Let’s listen to the passage that has been chosen for our study this day so that we can draw encouragement from what is written. In this particular passage we are taught, “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to 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 manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-18].
AS A CHRISTIAN, YOU HOLD A TREASURE OF INESTIMABLE WORTH. Okay, if you are a follower of Christ, you will have no doubt understood that your life has great value. Each of us who follow the Saviour know that the Infinite Son of God gave His life for us. The Living God valued us so much that He sent His Son to die in our place. You no doubt recall what is perhaps the best-known verse of all the Word: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” [JOHN 3:16]. But our text informs us that because you are a follower of the Risen Saviour, you have been entrusted with a treasure of immeasurable worth. Paul states, “We have this treasure in jars of clay” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:7]. He is of course speaking of us who are followers of the Risen Saviour. He is referring to this physical body which is of the earth and thus subject to all the pressures and debilitations of this fallen world.
In the broadest possible sense, whether lost or whether saved, you should know that you are the focus of God’s perfect love. Perhaps I speak to an individual who is lost and intimately identified with this dying world. Despite your lost condition I can assure you that God loves you. I won’t soft-pedal the fact that God must judge you as a lost sinner—His holiness demands that He judge sin as exceeding sinful, but it does not change the truth that God loves you. And the evidence that God loves you despite your lost condition is that He sent His Son to die because of you, to provide a means for you to be saved. God hates the sin that contaminates your life and that separates you from Him. Nevertheless, the very fact that the Spirit of God speaks to your heart, inviting you to accept His gracious offer of life is evidence that the True and Living God loves you.
If, as is most likely the case for each one who is seated before me at this time, you are a follower of the Risen Lord of Glory, you know that God loves you because you have received the love of God in Christ Jesus as Lord over your life. The Spirit of Christ has taken up residence in you, testifying that you are a child of the True and Living God. Because you are saved, you are a treasured child of the Living God. Here is the point of the text, however: you are not just a treasure in the eyes of God, but you possess a treasure of far greater value than you could ever imagine.
Your very existence as a follower of the Risen Lord of Glory in the midst of a fallen world is a testimony to those of the world that there is a God and that they are under divine judgement. You don’t even need to point out their sin to them—they know that they are sinners because your life condemns them as such. Believe me when I say that the world takes note of your presence if you are a servant of the Living God. Perhaps you will recall the words Daniel wrote as he drew to a close the prophecy that bears his name. Daniel wrote, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” [DANIEL 12:2-3].
You may imagine that your life has no particular value at this moment; but our Lord, speaking of His return and the judgement that shall be revealed at that time, says, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” [MATTHEW 13:41-43].
The LORD God, speaking through His Prophet Malachi, informs us that He notes the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous, between those who serve Him and those who do not serve Him. We read, “Those who respected the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD took notice. A scroll was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the LORD and honored his name. ‘They will belong to me,’ says the LORD who rules over all, ‘in the day when I prepare my own special property. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not” [MALACHI 3:16-18 NET BIBLE].
Child of God, your life is precious to your Master Jesus. With the Apostle, you can say with confidence, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” [GALATIANS 2:20].
Regardless of your feelings, your life has meaning; you are supremely important to the Saviour Who gave His life as a sacrifice for you. The evidence that your life has meaning is witnessed through the fact that God did send His Son to be the full and perfect sacrifice for your sin ensuring that you can be reconciled to God. Having believed, the Spirit of God has taken up residence in your life, and you now have confidence that you are God’s child. Is this not this the testimony recorded in Romans? “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” [ROMANS 8:15b-17a].
And before he delivered that testimony, the Apostle had written to encourage us, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” [ROMANS 8:9-11].
The body is weak, destined for dust. Your present condition is best described by the Apostle’s words as possessing a jar of clay; he is defining this body that is always dying as a jar of clay. And of course, we recognise that the body is subject to death. When the Lord confronted Adam after his rebellion was exposed, God said,
“By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
[GENESIS 3:19]
The words spoken by our Creator when He sentenced our first father are echoed by the Preacher when he proclaimed, “What happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return” [ECCLESIASTES 3:19-20].
Though this body is subject to death, and we are indeed born dying, this jar of clay that we know as our body holds a treasure that cannot be fully realised at this moment. We are subject to all the problems that afflict the race—we are not immune to the weaknesses and challenges of this life. And yet, we have this treasure.
Child of God, whether you realise this truth or not, you hold the knowledge of the glorious God in your life. You have the evidence of the power of the Risen Christ resting on you and in you. You possess the evidence of God’s very existence, of His might, of His grace, and your life becomes the means by which the light of God Himself shines through to pierce the darkness of this dying world. God Himself is using you to reveal His presence. Isn’t this what the Apostle has said when he writes, “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:6]?
It will prove valuable if we firmly establish what the treasure is that we hold. You will recall that I have already alluded to the fact that as a follower of the Christ you have the knowledge of the glory of God. Moreover, that knowledge shines through your presence as you live out your life—people cannot help but note that you reflect, however dimly, the presence of God in your life. In the verses preceding our text the Apostle has made a contrast between you and those who are identified as belonging to the world. Listen as I read what should be obvious to each Christian listening to this message.
The Word of God teaches, “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:1-6].
Because we now possess this treasure, we do not want to do anything that would dishonour God Who has entrusted this glorious treasure to our oversight. We don’t try to deceive those identified as belonging to this world, those who are blinded by the god of this world, Satan. And make no mistake, those who have never been born from above are indeed blinded by the devil. They imagine that they can see clearly. They would assure themselves that they understand what is going on. However, they are spiritually blind and incapable of seeing the beauty of freedom that is ours in Christ the Lord. They are aware of our freedom in Christ, and it offends them that they do not have that same freedom. Thus, they are angry and disappointed in our presence. And yet, they grudgingly respect us for the grace of God when we permit that grace to shine through.
We Christians aren’t attempting to trick or deceive anyone when we tell them of Christ the Lord. We don’t, as some advocate, attempt to make friends just so we can lure people to Jesus. Of course, we want people to come to our services, but our purpose is not to make them church members! We want outsiders to hear the message of life and believe the Good News that Jesus died because of their sin and that He has conquered death so that they need no longer fear death. We want them to know the freedom that is promised in Christ. Above all else, we want to glorify the Saviour Who has redeemed us. Amen.
A treasure that is held simply to admire it and to revel selfishly in the fact that you possess that treasure is a rather worthless wealth. A treasure is to be administered to bless others and to provide wisely for our own needs. That is certainly true in the world in which we live and move and have our being. And it should be no surprise that the truth holds in a similar manner in the spiritual world. We are to administer the treasure that is entrusted to us for the benefit of others. We are to bless our fellow saints by serving one another in love. We are to bless those who are blinded and groping about in the world by pointing them to the glory of the Risen Saviour. We are to tell those who are lost of the life that is offered through faith in the Risen Saviour. And we are to plead with the Father for life for those who are lost, asking that He would grant them repentance resulting in life.
THE TREASURE YOU HOLD REVEALS THE VALUE OF YOUR LIFE. Listen to the Apostle’s description of life as a follower of the Risen Saviour. “We have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body. For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-11].
Granted, Paul is speaking of his life that is expended on behalf of the Corinthians, or life expended on behalf of any of the assemblies he had established and served. A thought stands out in my mind as I read his description of life as an Apostle of Christ: Scars, not stars, is the test of a true ministry. How would the life of those who wish to be adulated and admired as a minister today match up with the apostles? I fear we come into the Faith with the thought that it will cost us nothing to follow Christ, and yet I hear the Master cautioning, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” [LUKE 9:23-26]. Dear people, know that ministry that cost nothing accomplishes nothing.
Hudson Taylor surveyed the history of the stalwarts of the Faith that had preceded him, before concluding, “All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on Him being with them.” And yet, great though the stalwarts have been, great though their accomplishments may be, though these men and women whom we admire so greatly did accomplish so much for the cause of Christ, they were but mortals. And each died.
Read again the account of the descendants of man from Adam to Noah as recorded in the fifth chapter of Genesis, noting how each of these individuals concluded life. Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan and so on until we at last reach Noah—each recitation concludes with this dark notation, “and he died.”
On one occasion, Spurgeon delivered a sermon that consisted of leading the entire assembly out of the auditorium and into a graveyard close by the tabernacle. As the people followed, he paused before each grave and read the date of the birth and the date of the death. It was as though he was reading the fifth chapter of Genesis, with each life concluding with the notation, “and he died.” Those trekking behind the great preacher would have known some of those entombed in that graveyard. Regardless, they would have been sobered by the knowledge that each had lived, however briefly, and then died.
When the writer of the Letter to the Hebrew saints records the accounts of those who populate the hall of faith, he notes, “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” [HEBREWS 11:13]. Reading of those who preceded us in the Faith, are we not humbled at what they accomplished? Yet, we know that it is the treasure within which imparts value to the jar of clay.
You are perhaps aware that on one occasion Jesus told a series of parables that speak of the value of the treasure with which we who are twice born have been entrusted. Here is one parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” [MATTHEW 13:44]. In this parable, Jesus is speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven, and He says finding what that Kingdom is about is comparable to a man finding a treasure in a field. Note that while entering into the Kingdom of Heaven is a rich blessing, the Master says that learning what the Kingdom of Heaven is about is a treasure of its own. Though the man is mortal, he realises that a great treasure can be possessed.
Jesus immediately followed that first parable with another parable that was similar, saying, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” [MATTHEW 13:45-46]. He was speaking of learning about the Kingdom of Heaven, instructing us that finding oneself in that Kingdom is comparable to a man who discovers a pearl of great value. In the midst of multiple treasures, the man espies one pearl that is worth more than all the other pearls combined, and the man will do whatever is necessary to possess that one pearl.
When one finds himself or herself in the Kingdom of Heaven by God’s grace, I counsel taking time to familiarise oneself with the new relationship you have entered into. Take some time to revel in the new relationship with the Father—the joy of simply being in the presence of God and knowing that you are accepted in the Beloved Son. Take some time to discover the richness of being a member of the Body of Christ, rejoicing in the opportunity to minister with the gifts entrusted to you.
Having given these first two parables, Jesus added a final parable, teaching, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad” [MATTHEW 13:47-48]. This third parable Jesus told once more focuses attention on the Kingdom of Heaven. There are multiple creatures captured in the net that a fisherman has cast into the sea, but only those which have value are retained while all the rest are thrown back into the sea from which they came. Thus, the Kingdom of Heaven alone is worth retaining, and all that is of this world should be jettisoned in order to retain what is of eternal worth.
Jesus followed these parables with clear instruction that what He had just said was related to the Kingdom of Heaven and the end of the age [see MATTHEW 13:49-50]. He then asked the disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” They simply responded, “Yes.” With that, Jesus makes an application that applies to us if we claim to understand: “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” [MATTHEW 13:52].
The Apostle to the Gentiles speaks of necessity being placed upon his life because he knows the Risen Saviour. This is how he addresses the matter in his first letter to the Christians of Corinth. “If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for this obligation has been entrusted to me. How terrible it would be for me if I didn’t preach the gospel! For if I preach voluntarily, I get a reward, but if I am unwilling to do it, I am still entrusted with that obligation. What, then, is my reward? It is to be able to preach the gospel free of charge, and so I never resort to demanding my rights when I’m preaching the gospel” [1 CORINTHIANS 9:16-18 ISV].
I am speaking to people who possess a priceless treasure. Your life has no value beyond what you possess. I don’t mean that you are worthless, because assuredly you are loved by those who know you. Your life has value to them. However, one day you will pass out of this life, and whatever impact you may have had will fade until within a relatively short time, you will no longer be remembered. How many of you knew your great-grandfather, or your great-grandmother? How many of you are able to relate stories of events from their lives? During the days of their lives, they were loved, and they loved, and they died. Yet, I contend that for those ancestors of yours, though they were demonstrated to be housed in jars of clay, possessed a treasure of inestimable worth if they were born from above and into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Years ago, Dottie Rambo wrote a song that speaks to the transition that is coming. Each of us who are redeemed will be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
The holy hills of Heaven call me
To mansions bright across the sea
Where loved ones wait and crowns are given
When the hills of home keep calling me
I see loved ones over yonder
Tears are gone and hearts are free
And from the throne king Jesus beckons
Oh, the hills of home are calling me
This house of flesh is but a prison
Bars of bone hold my soul
But the doors of clay are gonna’ burst wide open
When the angel sets my spirit free and
I'll take my flight like a mighty eagle
When the hills of home start calling me
When the hills of home start calling me [2]
There is a treasure bound up in this jar of clay; it is the knowledge of the glory of God seen in the face of Jesus Christ. Something wonderful will be taking place one day, for the beauty of Christ is going to be fully revealed in each one who is a follower of Christ. From time-to-time that glory shines through, and we are awed whenever we witness that glory. But there awaits a day when it won’t be a fleeting glimpse of the treasure we hold, we will then witness the glory of God bursting through, dazzling all who behold us. God Himself will shortly ensure that we shall no longer be restrained by this fallen body.
Paul is right when he says, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-53]. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF YOUR LIFE CANNOT BE FULLY WITNESSED AT THIS TIME. You, as a follower of Christ, are now being changed into the image of Christ the Lord. This transformation is ongoing at this time; it will not be complete until that day when you stand complete in Christ the Lord. However, you should not doubt that you are being changed into His image. We don’t always see the change that is taking place, but as I have said, we do occasionally see the beauty of what we are becoming shine through.
Perhaps it is as we lift up a sister who has stumbled. We don’t kick her, but we reach out to pull her up so that she need not grovel. Our tears mingle with hers as we share the pain and speak of the hope that is ours in Christ who redeems each of us. Perhaps it is after we have spent time in the presence of our Master. The light of glory radiates briefly from our face, reflecting the glory of Him Who has been ministering to us through His Word. Perhaps it is as we weep over a family member who has turned from the life that is freely offered in Christ the Lord. Our hearts are broken at such time; and like our Saviour when He wept over Jerusalem, we weep, knowing the awful price our loved one must pay if they do not turn to Christ. At yet other times, it will be because we have been encouraged by a Word from the Lord that was delivered by a fellow saint.
The important thing is that, “[We are] sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” [PHILIPPIANS 1:6]. I encourage you to gather with the saints looking for the working of Christ in our lives. We live in a broken world that wants to tear down and destroy all that is good and holy. Though we are followers of the King of Glory, we can be so contaminated by this fallen world that we begin to think as the world thinks, destroying even those who share the Faith, wounding them with barbed words and with caustic attitudes.
We are different! I pray you hear me as I plead for you to “be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” [PHILIPPIANS 2:15-16].
I have spoken to Christians, but I do not want to neglect telling any who are outside of Christ that they must know that they shall one day face the Christ. He will not be your sacrifice at that time, but He shall be your Judge. What will you say? How will you fare in that awful day if you have never been set free from your sin and delivered into the Kingdom of light? I conclude by pleading with you to hear this if you have heard nothing else. Christ Jesus died to take all your sin upon Himself. Now, you must receive Him as your Master if you will be saved. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Dottie Rambo, “The Holy Hills of Heaven Call Me”
