Daily Bread

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from 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 made visible in our bodies.

I love this passage of hope.

Sometimes I think about God and love as being synonymous with each other — where the two words are interchangeable. For example, in 1 Cornthians 13, where Paul writes about love; Love is patient, love is kind, and so on, we can replace 'love' with 'God'. God is patient, God is kind, and so on.

In the same way, when we talk about the Holy Spirit being poured into our hearts, we can also use the language of love, saying that God's love has been poured into our hearts. And it is this love that can never be extinguished.

When Paul writes about us being clay jars with a treasure inside, he is describing us ordinary people as being vessels of God's extraordinary love. The Holy Spirit — God's love — is in us, and though we may struggle in body and mind, the flame of God's love can burn brightly. And it is the presence and power of this love that makes all the difference.

No matter what afflictions we face in life — and they are many and varied — no-one can ever take away God's love that is within us, and the thing about love is that it cannot be contained. So, dear friends, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, may we continue to radiate God's love to a broken and hurting world.

Holy God
You know that I am
but a jar of clay,
and that there is nothing
about me of which I can boast.
I rejoice and give thanks
that though I was undeserving
you chose to pour into me
your divine and eternal love,
and through your Holy Spirit
gave me an internal flame
that can never be extinguished.