"Jars of Clay"

You may not be as enamored of history as me, and I hope the first part of this post won't bore you enough to quit reading, but I'll risk it if you will. The history of your earliest brothers and sisters is an important element in understanding your Christian roots, so I want to share a few facts that will set the stage for this installment of our discussion of "Faith is My Life".
The first 30 or 40 years of Christianity were characterized by persecution and threats, but that came virtually entirely from the Jews who viewed their Jewish brothers who embraced Jesus as Lord as both spiritual and national traitors. The Roman occupiers of Judea pretty much ignored the Jews and lumped the new Christians and Jews together. In fact most of those early followers of Jesus were Jews so the Roman attitude was understandable.
However, with the reign of the Emperor Nero that changed drastically.
In July 64 AD, a very serious, six day fire broke out in the heart of Rome that destroyed nearly half of the city. Some of the citizens began to accuse Nero of actually causing the fire because he immediately began to clear the debris to begin construction on a new palace and gardens on the 300 acre burn site. What follows is an account written by a Roman historian named Tacitus. He was 9 years old at the time of this great fire and witnessed what he describes in his Annals, written around 116 AD, he observed:

"To get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our Procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was made of all who pleaded guilty; then upon their information, AN IMMEMENSE MULTITUDE (emphasis mine) was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their death. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt to serve as nightly illumination when daylight had expired."

Do you need to go back and read that again?! I'm not sure how many "an immense multitude" would be but I know it's probably beyond any accounting ability of that era. Nero wasn't the first Emperor to persecute Christians but he was most likely the cause of more Christians deaths than all of his predecessors combined. He set in motion a wave of persecution that lasted for centuries.
When Paul wrote his 2 Corinthian letter, likely in the Fall of 56 AD, being a Christian was risky, as the early waves of persecution began to flex some serious muscle. Paul addresses that risk in a very unique way:

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness", made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 2 Corinthians 4:4-7 NIV
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 4:16-18

God has invested his "treasure", the good news about his Son, in "jars of clay", that's you and me, to prove his love for his human creation. We all are fragile, imperfect, flawed and just common, ordinary vessels but we house a precious treasure from heaven.
I realize some of you are being challenged by life circumstances that can appear insurmountable at worst and just depressing at the least. There are still countries and areas of countries where being a Christian is still risky, even a death sentence. Please try to see beyond whatever circumstance is threatening you now, and just allow faith to rise in your spirit. You are a "jar of clay" but God has entrusted you with a treasure that far outweighs your circumstance - if you can believe it.
Take a deep breath, go stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself, face-to-face, that you are a reflection of the glory of God and because of Jesus, you now are an imperfect vessel that literally contains the treasure of heaven.

Until next time please keep letting God's glory shine through you.