God’s Plastic Shopping Bags

Today's #BattleDrill devotional: Do you still have "best china" at home? We may not measure up to the best bowls and plates you can buy, but God has entrusted his good news to us. #salvationarmy #basingstoke #devotional Read 2 Corinthians 4:1-18. Gail and I have a “best” china set we were given by various friends and family members at our wedding. We still use it every Sunday and on special occasions. Do you have plates and bowls that only come out on special occasions? It’s usually because it’s better quality or better looking than our “normal” crockery. Paul emphasises that God has not given the task of spreading his message of salvation to “the best china.” Perhaps those who are intellectually superior, or eloquent speakers, or people in positions of high authority. No, he has placed this “great treasure” in fragile, cheap, ordinary, everyday clay jars. In Paul’s day, clay pots had many uses. They could be made cheaply, and so they would be bought and used to hold everything from food to fuel. They could be seen anywhere – at home, in window openings, near cooking fires and in the marketplaces of the world. They were so cheap that if they broke (which, as fragile vessels, could be quite open) the people wouldn’t bother to mend them, they would discard them and get another one. Often, we can be discouraged because we are not perfect. We make mistakes. We sin. We feel inadequate. We wonder if we’re in any way effective as Jesus followers. But our imperfect humanity is no hindrance to God’s plan. In fact, he seems to revel in taking his imperfect, cheap, fragile clay jar humans and making them his best china. Thank God today that imperfect people are often attracted to the gospel and drawn to Christ by his imperfect people. We relate more easily to someone whose fragility and imperfections aren’t hidden away. THINK IT OVER Think about the following: o In what areas of your life do you feel inadequate? Can you thank God for the way he has made you? You can subscribe in your favourite podcast program using this link - https://feeds.podcastmirror.com/battle-drill-daily You can also subscribe on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/battle-drill-daily-devotional/id1547999905 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0RtXUU5VTM00EJGLyriyzA Android: https://subscribeonandroid.com/feeds.podcastmirror.com/battle-drill-daily Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/rob-westwoodpayne/battle-drill-daily-devotional Email: https://subscribebyemail.com/feeds.podcastmirror.com/battle-drill-daily