SERMON TITLE: Cracked but Called: How the Light Gets In
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (CSB)
Opening: The Cracks Where the Light Gets In
There’s a line from a song by Leonard Cohen that always catches my heart:
“Ring the bells that still can ring,
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything—
That’s how the light gets in.”
He wrote that after years of wrestling with failure and faith.
He had discovered what the Apostle Paul learned long before him—
that sometimes, it’s the cracks that let the light in.
When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he wasn’t on a spiritual high.
He was tired. Misunderstood.
Criticized by people who said, “He’s too weak to be an apostle.”
But Paul didn’t deny it—he embraced it.
He said, “Yes, I’m weak… but that’s where God’s power shows up.”
Then he wrote these timeless words:
“We have this treasure in clay jars,
so that this extraordinary power
may be from God and not from us.”
That’s the message for us today:
We are cracked—but we are called.
We are fragile—but we are filled.
And through every crack, the light of Christ shines.
Setting the Scene: The Heart of 2 Corinthians
Before we walk through the verses,
let’s remember the story behind the letter.
Paul had planted the church in Corinth years earlier.
After he left, other teachers came along—smooth talkers, polished, powerful.
They said, “Paul suffers too much. He’s unimpressive. God must not be with him.”
Paul could have defended himself with pride,
but instead, he said:
“My suffering is not a sign that God abandoned me;
it’s proof that His power rests on me.”
2 Corinthians is Paul’s most personal letter,
his diary of weakness, his theology of tears.
He teaches that true ministry is not about strength; it’s about surrender.
In chapters 3 through 5, he tells us that the same God
who said “Let there be light”
has shone that light into our hearts.
But He chose to place that light inside jars of clay;
ordinary, breakable people, so that everyone will know
the glory belongs to God alone.
Point 1: We All Have Cracks (vv. 7-9)
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.”
Listen to the rhythm—
afflicted / not crushed,
perplexed / not in despair,
persecuted / not abandoned,
struck down / not destroyed.
It’s the music of a life sustained by grace.
Paul isn’t pretending everything’s fine.
He’s admitting that following Christ hurts sometimes,
but God keeps holding him together.
Maybe that’s your story too.
Afflicted, but not crushed.
Perplexed, but still believing.
Struck down, but somehow still standing.
Clay jars were the Tupperware of the ancient world,
cheap, ordinary, easily broken.
That’s how Paul describes himself.
He’s saying, “I’m not gold or silver; I’m just clay.
But inside this clay is the treasure of Christ.”
Illustration:
Picture a small clay lamp.
It’s thin and cracked from use.
When you light the flame inside,
the cracks become channels for light.
The more cracks there are,
the more light escapes.
That’s what God does through us.
He lets His light leak out through the thin places of our lives.
Don’t be ashamed of your cracks.
God isn’t.
He’s using them.
Point 2: The Cracks Have a Purpose (vv. 10-12)
“We always carry the death of Jesus in our body,
so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body.”
Paul says our weakness connects us to the cross.
We carry the death of Jesus,
so that His life can be seen in us.
That’s the gospel pattern: death before resurrection,
suffering before glory.
Paul’s ministry looked like Christ’s path,
misunderstood, wounded, poured out,
and through that, life came to others.
He even says, “Death is at work in us,
but life in you.”
That’s ministry:
we get bruised so others can be blessed;
we are cracked so others can see the treasure.
Illustration: Kintsugi
In Japan, there’s an art called kintsugi,
“golden repair.”
When pottery breaks, the artist doesn’t throw it away.
He fills the cracks with gold.
The result? The repaired vessel is more beautiful than before.
Friend, God is the master of kintsugi grace.
He fills your fractures with mercy.
He doesn’t erase your story; He redeems it.
Can anybody here testify that God met you in your broken place?
That what looked like failure became a testimony of His power?
That’s kintsugi grace.
Application:
Stop trying to hide your cracks.
Let Christ’s gold fill them.
Your weakness might be the sermon someone else needs to see.
Point 3: The Light Shines Through the Cracks (vv. 16-18)
“Therefore we do not give up.
Even though our outer person is being destroyed,
our inner person is being renewed day by day.
For our momentary light affliction
is producing for us an absolutely incomparable
eternal weight of glory.”
Paul is honest: the outer person is wasting away.
Bodies age. Hearts break.
Life presses in.
But inside, something invisible is happening,
renewal.
While the world sees weakness,
God is weaving glory.
He calls our pain “light” and “momentary.”
That doesn’t mean it’s small;
it means it’s small compared to the weight of glory coming our way.
Illustration: Stained Glass
From the outside, a stained-glass window
looks like dull fragments of colored glass.
But when light shines through,
it becomes radiant.
Your life may look like a collection of broken pieces,
but when the light of Christ shines through,
the beauty is breathtaking.
Application:
Keep your eyes on what is unseen.
Don’t judge your story by its cracks;
look at the light shining through them.
Every scar, every trial, every disappointment
is producing glory beyond comparison.
So What Do We Do With This?
Don’t despise your weakness.
Your cracks are your calling card for grace.
Stay open.
Closed jars don’t shine.
God’s power flows through people who stay honest and humble.
Keep serving.
The treasure is meant to be shared.
When you love, pray, preach, or serve out of weakness,
you’re letting the treasure spill out.
Fix your eyes on Jesus.
Verse 6 says,
“The God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’
has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory
in the face of Jesus Christ.”
The more you look at Him,
the brighter the treasure shines.
Conclusion: How the Light Gets In and Out
Leonard Cohen sang,
“There is a crack in everything—that’s how the light gets in.”
Paul would agree,
and then he’d add,
“That’s also how the light gets out.”
We are not perfect offerings;
we are clay jars filled with glory.
Through our cracks,
the world catches a glimpse of Christ.
So ring the bells that still can ring.
Don’t wait for perfect conditions or perfect strength.
Let the light in, and let it out.
Because in the hands of the Potter,
even broken vessels shine.
Closing Prayer
Lord, thank You for trusting fragile people with eternal treasure.
Thank You that Your power is greater than our weakness.
Shine through our cracks.
Let our stories, our scars, our struggles
become windows of grace for the world to see.
Make us living lanterns of Your glory,
until the day we are made whole in Your presence.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
