GLORY VESSELS

Based on the Message of Rev. Seth Baluyot

Shining forth God’s Light

We were taught in Science class that the light of the moon does not come from the moon itself. Its light is but a reflection of the light coming from the sun. This is also mentioned in the Bible in Isaiah 30:26 which says, “Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun…”

Interestingly, this scientific fact actually conveys a spiritual truth. Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

However, in another instance, Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

In the first verse, He said He is the light while in the other verse He said that we, Christians, are the light. We know for a fact that Jesus was not confused nor contradicting Himself here. His two statements are both true! He is just like the sun while we are just like the moon.

Jesus is the source of light while we are just reflecting the light coming from Him.

Going back to the lessons we learned from our Science class, we know that a lunar eclipse happens when the earth is directly between the sun and the moon. The earth completely blocks out the light coming from the sun. Because of this positioning, the moon is directly in the shadow of the earth and so it cannot shine any light.

Similarly, the earth is like the lures of the world and we are like the moon. If we let ourselves be consumed by the ways, passions, and pleasures of the world, the light from the sun cannot reach us and we will live in darkness.

King Solomon, a man known for his great wisdom, loved righteousness but he did not hate iniquity (1 Kings 3:3). Because he let the pleasures of this world consume him, he found himself feeling empty in the end. Though he was favored by God by giving him great wisdom, he was not able to fully reflect the glory of God in his life. He was like a half-moon that shone only part of the light it was getting from the sun.

If we allow the world to influence us, we will not be able to clearly show and give the light of Christ to others. We ought to receive God’s light, live in that light, and allow that light to shine forth so that others may see the power and glory of God. To hide that light is tantamount to being ashamed of our Lord.

Being a Vessel for the Gospel

Second Corinthians 4:7 says “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” The treasure that Apostle Paul was talking about here was not some material object that we can have. Rather, he was talking about the gospel.

The Apostle Paul also mentioned “earthen vessels” in this verse. Earthen vessels are very ordinary containers. There is nothing special about them. These are usually not where one would put expensive jewelry.

Nevertheless, Apostle Paul suggests that the treasure of the gospel is contained not in extravagant packages but in mere earthen vessels. God has meant it to be this way so that the treasure itself would get the glory and not the container.

In 1947, Bedouin shepherds were exploring the caves along the Dead Sea. One of them threw stones into one cave and was startled when he heard jars breaking inside. They eventually found out that those jars contained the Dead Sea Scrolls which are the ancient manuscripts of key Biblical accounts (The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4). Those were just old, ordinary jars but the articles they found inside those jars were priceless!

Like the jars that held the Dead Sea scrolls, we are the containers that are meant to hold the treasure Apostle Paul was speaking about.

The purpose of a jar or a vessel is fulfilled when it contains what it was designed to contain. Similarly, God created us not just for decoration. He did not create us just to sit back and look nice.

He created us to contain something precious, which is the gospel.

When a mechanic fixes a broken car, he uses several tools to do the job. Once he completes fixing the car, we do not commend the tools saying, “Good job wrench!” or “Well done screwdriver!”

We give the praise to the mechanic. In the same way, the Lord is glorified when His power is expressed through us.

In First Corinthians 1:26-28, Apostle Paul says, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,”

The wise, mighty, and noble according to the eyes of the world represent those who have a tendency to be swelled up in pride. The foolish, weak, and base are those who humbly acknowledge that they know nothing and in so doing, find it easier to put their trust in God.

The Breaking of the Vessel

In Judges 7, we will see an account of how Gideon and his army of 300 defeated the Midianite army whose numbers were described as “thick as locusts.” God proved to them that victory is gained through God’s strength and wisdom and not through numbers and might.

In Judges 7:17-18, one of Gideon’s instructions to the army was to bring torches hidden in empty jars. As Gideon’s army was about to attack in darkness, they blew their horns, smashed the jars, and grasped their torches, bringing confusion and eventual defeat to their enemies.

Gideon and his army had to break the jars to reveal the hidden light that would help them win the battle. In the same way, God sometimes allows us to go through trials to break us. Often it is through these dark times that our independence is broken and we learn to rely on God instead.

In Second Corinthians 4:16-18 Paul says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

He is encouraging the Corinthian church that the difficulties that they are going through in life are only light and temporary yet the reward is far more exceeding.

May we not lose heart and may we find hope through the Word of God that all the trials we go through are just temporary and that far greater than those is an eternal glory waiting for us.

And just like those earthen vessels, as we are being broken time and again through episodes of darkness, not only do we hope to see the light at the end of it, but that the light of the gospel may be seen through us.

For it is when we are broken that the light of Christ shines brightest in our lives.