Treasured Earthen Vessels

​2 Corinthians 4
 
The focus of our hopes in life usually becomes transparent at the point of suffering, whether they are disappointments or difficulties, and it vulnerably exposes where we have centred our faith. The Apostle Paul was no stranger to ordeals, as is reflected in this Epistle to the Corinthians, as he pulls back the curtain to his heart, showing us what it was like to have forsaken all to follow Christ (2 Cor 4:1-12; 11: 23-29). The transformation of his spiritual allegiance was radical: from a Pharisaic leader of a persecutory group to a faithful follower of the Way sect, with consequent sacrificial outcomes that included a constant threat to his life from Jewish zealots, ultimately forcing him to appeal to the Gentile Caesar (Acts 9:19-25; 21:27-28:14), and ironically, in whose hands he was probably martyred. 
 
The Corinthian believers were questioning Paul’s apostolic credentials and motives because of false teachers in their midst. His metaphorical reply (2 Cor 4:10-12) is indicative of the Apostle’s selflessly laying down his own life in the spread of the gospel message to the Gentiles and the edification of the churches. Paul also observed that time never stops, and physical life, inclusive of creation itself, in all its expressions, is progressively decaying (2 Cor 4:16-18; cf., Rom 5: 3-5), but for the resurrection life of Christ, which transcends death (cf., 2 Cor 12: 7-13). Surely, 'we do not loose heart... but by looking at the things which are not seen' (2 Cor 4:16 -18) and allowing our heart to love God deeply, as He would have us do, despite personal challenges to responsibilities He had given us, because of His deep love for all (John 12:24). And just as Paul would press on, we continue moving forward too.
 
Paul’s personal experience of hardships was insufferable (2 Cor 1:8-9), but as he looked back, he is totally convinced that he came through them simply because the life of Jesus was manifested in his body (2 Cor 4:10). Our concept of evil and suffering naturally conditions us to avoid them at all costs, despite its universality and undifferentiating character, but Paul caught sight of its mystery; not dissimilar to the process of evil that led to Calvary which resulted in God’s glory in salvation. In fact, Paul makes an astonishing admission: “for our present troubles are small and would not last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever” (2Cor 4:17). This unseen heavenly hope in interpreting evil as love’s handmaiden in God’s hands, bringing about glory in His time, puts everything else that preoccupies us in perspective (2 Cor 4:17-18; cf., 1 Peter 4:14,16). After all, when he refers to ‘glory,’ it is about a particular ‘Presence,’ the presence of God. Inevitably, His Presence with us during suffering that is being differentiated.
 
It is often difficult to see beyond the confines of our finite world as we are helmed in by our own individual dimensional limitations, but occasionally a foretaste of what it is like to know the beauty of heavenly holiness and sublimity breaks through our skeptical barriers. Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians was to fasten their ‘eyes’ on the eternal – on the Presence of our faithful God (2 Cor 4:18).
 
Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
 
Open my ears that I may hear voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave notes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear. 
 
Open my mouth and let me bear tidings of mercy everywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare love with Thy children thus to share. 
 
Open my mind that I may read more of Thy love in word and deed;
What shall I fear while yet Thou dost lead? Only for light from Thee I plead.
 
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine!       
 
(Lyrics by Clara Scott)