Recently, Mexico's Navy found a ton of cocaine stuffed inside frozen shark carcasses.
Apparently it is getting pretty hard for drug gangs to move their merchandise undetected. Still, it seems like a strange place to find cocaine (not that there are any good places to find cocaine). But this story got me thinking. God puts something far more valuable than cocaine, into something far more strange than shark carcasses. Check it out in 2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
What's that all about? The treasure here is the priceless jewel that is the knowledge of God in Christ, which God has shone in the apostle Paul's heart (2 Cor. 4:6). God chooses to put His priceless treasure in the strangest of places. No, not shark carcasses, but in ordinary, weak, run of the mill, jars of clay. These jars of clay are weak, plain people like you and me. God puts this treasure into our hearts as we believe the gospel of Jesus. God gives us the glorious, life-changing knowledge of himself and even stores that knowledge in us.
Why does God do this? To show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us (.v7b). Whenever you see a Christian doing something special or spectacular or even just being strong in their faith, you can be tempted to think highly of them. But all of us Christians are just pathetic pots of hard mud. There is nothing special in us. If a Christian does anything remotely powerful or godly, it is only because God's brilliant treasure is shining through a mirky vessel.
And you might think that you are not that special. And you would be right! But God can still use you for His glory if you display his dazzling treasure of the gospel of Jesus in the way you speak, think and act. What a great thought!
So the next time you see a Christian do something impressive, don't praise them, Praise God.
And the next time you think you are hopeless and ordinary as a Christian, Praise God and let His treasure radiate through your plainness.
And remember that although it is strange to find a ton of cocaine in frozen shark carcasses, how much more strange is it to find treasure in jars of clay.