Old Tupperware and Clay Pots.

My Tupperware drawer is where plastic goes to die. I'm embarrassed to tell you that it is one of the most disorganized storage locations in my house. It is safe to say that I have one hundred various sized plastic bowls, and at least fifty percent are damaged, stained, or missing a lid. I've been eyeing those neat little stacks of self contained plastic ware for months at Target, but haven't given in to buying them. I guess I'd rather empty out an entire drawer every night and attempt an archaeological dig to find a suitable location for leftover Manwich. I recently put left over chicken in a plastic bowl and covered it with foil before I even attempted the lid search. The foil covered the top, but in the morning my fridge smelled like dinner. I remember my mom had a green Tupperware salad keeper that had been so marred by time that it had a hole melted through it. She kept it. It must be genetic. Clearly, there is a better way, as I'm sure most of you have already replaced the crazy plastic pile with neatly organized storage containment systems. Not I.

This morning I came across a verse that brought a smile to my face...

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.
~2 Corinthians 4:7-10

There are those days when I resemble my Tupperware drawer. My disheveled mess of a life does not reveal my true potential. I am marred by time. I am missing important pieces. These are the days that I don't feel like much of an example for the cause of Christ.

When I think of the metaphor within 2 Corinthians 4 that compares us to jars of clay, I realize that sometimes we allow our imperfections to define us. Our frailties and our inadequacies fake us into believing that we can do nothing for the cause or sake of Him who made us. We miss the point. He works through our missing lids. He works through our brokenness and weaknesses. You see, it isn't about me; the clay pot...the old green Tupperware. It is about who lives in me.

In every way this life on earth will try to bring us down. It will try to silence us by pointing out every flaw we have. We may feel purposeless. In our exhaustion, we may want to give up and go find a dark place to hide. Yet, He is still there waiting to use us, waiting to shine through.

For so long I believed that a true Christian looked a certain way, dressed a certain way, and talked a certain way. I don't believe that anymore. God has called ALL people to serve Him. God has called all broken, stained, old, young, misplaced, forgotten, hurt, wounded, ugly, poor people to serve Him; to reveal Him through their brokenness. When you consider what lies within, the outside no longer matters much. Let Him out. Reveal what treasure you hold. Don't let your past or your inadequacies continue to hold back the glory of God. That is what lives within you; the glory of God in a simple jar made of clay.

Our exterior does not define us. He does.