“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 driven to despair; persecuted, 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. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you” (2 Corinthians 4:7-12, ESV).

The “treasure in jars of clay” verse (2 Corinthians 4:7) is notably in the top three of my favorite Bible verses! The “treasure” in these verses refers to “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” stated in vs 6. And God gives this knowledge of Himself – this treasure, revealed in Christ Jesus – to human beings to do with as they please,  accept it or reject it.

In these verses the Apostle Paul described what life is like for those who possess this treasure. The lifestyle he described might even be called “The Normal Christian Life” – affliction, bewilderment, persecution, adversity AND eternal life.

In fact, we could assume that if God’s answer to the human condition was a crucified and resurrected Messiah, then that might be the model for our lives in this world – affliction, bewilderment, persecution, adversity AND eternal life.

The apostle explains that while we carry the death of Jesus in our lives, we also carry the resurrection life of Jesus.

The mortal bears the immortal; the temporal consummates in the eternal.

So, isn’t it just like our merciful and loving God to keep His greatest treasure in the most unlikely place, the human heart, for anyone to have access to?

But, this treasure is poured into our lives in a two-fold fashion: blessing and suffering, acceptance and persecution, comfort and despair, mortality and immortality.

Some Christians, however, want to live only on the blessing side of the dichotomy and discount the suffering side.

But the Apostle Paul didn’t see it as dichotomous. To Paul, it was a package deal; it was all part of the normal Christian life: You carry around in your body the death of Jesus so that the future eternal life of Jesus may be revealed in your present Christian life.

For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. (I Corinthians 15:53, ESV)