“We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of the living.” (2 Corinthians 4:8, NCV)
I’m trying to figure out what in this world is not a matter of life and death. Seems to me, both are always with us. Everything is life; death has touched us all.
A saying from India to China goes like this: “The glass is already broken.” Take a glass of water, any glass, and the saying goes, “The glass is already broken.” It may be tomorrow, or it may be ten years from now, but the glass one day will break. That may sound morbid to some. But the meaning of the saying, “The glass is already broken,” has more to do with appreciating the time we have today with that glass. It’s a way of saying that everything is temporary in this world, so for today, be grateful.
I have long loved the phrase at the end of 2 Corinthians 4:1-12. The saying goes, “So death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” That’s just a really cool Greek way of saying that life and death is always present. Both are always around us. Death is at work in us; life is at work in us. We have the life of Christ, but we carry it around in breakable jars. We might say today that the bearers of the gospel are a bunch of cracked pots. That’s us. Or we might say something like, “The jar is already broken.” Yet, we broken vessels are able to share with the world the light of Christ. Life and death and life again.
The glass is already broken.
But thanks be to God that as we carry around the death of Christ it fills us with life. It’s a paradox. But that’s the gospel. So yet again, hear this word from the Lord:
2 Corinthians 4:1-12 (NCV)—God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don't give up. But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We use no trickery, and we do not change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly, showing everyone who we are. Then they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are in God's sight. If the Good News that we preach is hidden, it is hidden only to those who are lost. The devil who rules this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News—the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is exactly like God. We do not preach about ourselves, but we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we are your servants for Jesus. God once said, "Let the light shine out of the darkness!" This is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ. We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that the great power is from God, not from us. We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. We carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die. So death is working in us, but life is working in you.
The first line says everything about our mission as a church. God gave us a job to do. If it was a job we assigned ourselves, we might give up. But the job was not our idea. It was God’s idea. It’s his mission. And since God gave us this work to do, we do not give up.
We have put away the parts of our lives that were shameful; at least that’s what we are in the process of doing today.
We teach the truth, and we live the truth; at least that’s what we’re in the process of learning today.
Sometimes people cannot see it because they are committed to temporary things; sometimes we cannot see it because we are committed to temporary things. And yet, we keep preaching the same thing, that Jesus Christ is Lord. The same God who said, “Let there be light” is the same God who illuminates our hearts so that others may see the face of Christ dwelling in us.
Now here’s the really crazy part: The way God carries out all of this is through us cracked pots, broken vessels. The glass is already broken. But this shows that the power is not from us, but in what we carry. We go around leaking the light of Christ as those with trouble, but not defeated. We are those who are not always sure what we should do, but we still have hope. We feel beat down by the world at times, but we are confident that God makes good on his promise to never leave us nor forsake us.
Our broken glasses may leak, but what they leak is the water of life. We are still alive, but we carry around the death of Christ, which makes us even more alive. Death is at work in you; life is at work in you.
The glass is already broken. But the water of life is ever-flowing.
All of this reflecting is exactly why 2 Corinthians 4 is such a key passage for the life of the church. We are reminded that no matter what we may look like or go through or struggle through or even celebrate, that everything originates with God. Moreover, everything we pass on to the world is from God.
Sometimes churches get discouraged or even anxious about the present or the future. I suppose that is understandable since churches are made up of people and people get discouraged or even anxious. That’s why we come together on Sunday mornings to proclaim truths like 2 Corinthians 4. In proclamations like these we remind one another that the sustainer of life for our body in this place is the maker of heaven and earth who still gives us the gift of Christ today.
I love the second line of 4:8—“We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of the living.” (NCV)
The glass is already broken. But it is just a glass. It’s temporary. But the one in whom we place our hope is eternal. If we as a church ever lose sight of that, we will get discouraged. That’s what happens when church becomes the focus of church. And you know what they say: “When church becomes the point of church we miss the point of church.”
So what’s the point? Glad you asked. The point is placing our hope where hope is due. Not in us, but the one who gave us the mission in the first place.
Speaking of first place and first things, back to the very beginning in 4:1—“God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don’t give up.” (NCV)
The beginning is where we must begin and never forget. God gives us the task of carrying around the gospel in our broken glasses. But here’s the real good news:
It never was about the glass. This passage never was about the clay jars. The passage is about the treasure in the jars. The treasure is the death of Jesus, and the life of Jesus. We carry around both so that at the end of the day, when people see this body gathered in this place, hopefully all they can see is the face of Christ.
Amen.
