A Broken Lamp

I have this glass lamp that I keep avoiding. One day, while dusting, I knocked it against the bed stand and the bottom half shattered just enough to make it unstable. The lamp is very much still usable just an annoyance for anytime that I need light. 

I'm an avoider. I've noticed this about myself and my own brokenness. There are indeed so many broken things about me. I, often, shove them to the side in an attempt to continue on with life. I see the broken glass, tell myself I should do something about that..someday..and move on to the next thing on my to-do list. Thing is, at any time that glass lamp could shatter and leave me with a lot of cuts and pieces to pick up. You know, even if I tried to glue the lamp together myself, there's a good chance it wouldn't fit quite like it did. I was thinking about this today. (Dusting again...O' how I dislike dusting.) A verse came to mind...

"...But 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 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." 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 

 When Paul speaks of the "jars of clay" he refers to the baked clay pots of his day. They were "cheap, breakable and replaceable. Sometimes they were used as a vault to store valuables, such as money, jewelry, or important documents. But they were most often used for holding garbage and human waste. The great power of God overcomes and transcends the clay pot. The messenger's weakness is not fatal to what he does; it is essential." (MacArthur Bible Commentary) 

Our weaknesses are not only useable, they are essential. God's power shines more brilliantly because of our frailties. He reaches into the ugliest parts of our broken lives and chooses to shine through the common. 

We are afflicted, perplexed,  and struck down but, Praise Jesus, we are not crushed, forsaken or destroyed. This is our hope! Because of Christ's love and sacrifice we are not left to be replaceable or broken...because of his wholeness, we are made whole.