Calvin Synod Herald, 2016 (117. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-03-01 / 3-4. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 5 Let the word of God dwell in you richly.... Colossians 3:16 On the bookshelf above my desk 1 have a souvenir from the Holy Land that a friend brought back for me, a little clay jar about four inches high. Inside the jar is a small rolled up piece of paper, a miniature copy of part of the Isaiah scroll found at Qumran, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls were at first thought to be almost worthless, but upon closer examination they were found to be genuine documents from the Second Temple era, the time of Jesus. They are the oldest existing copies of many Old Testament books and are some of the most valuable documents in the world. Most of the scrolls are now preserved in the Shrine of the Book, a museum in Jerusalem. During the time of Jesus it was normal to keep scrolls in clay jars. That is how they protected the leather or papyrus scrolls from damage. But the jars themselves were fragile and easily broken. That, in fact, was how these scrolls were discovered. In 1946 a Bedouin shepherd boy tossed a stone into a cave and heard something break. When he crawled into the cave he found a collection of ancient clay jars that contained the word of God. This reminds me of something that the apostle Paul wrote. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 Paul is playing with the idea of having treasure in a jar of clay as he tries to explain a life in Christ encased by weakness and suffering. Speaking of his own life and ministry Paul says that he is afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. He carries around in his body the death of the Lord Jesus so that the life of the Lord Jesus may also be manifested in his body. By using this idea of treasure in a clay jar to describe his own apostolic ministry Paul is clearly comparing the clay jar to his own weak and broken earthly life and the treasure inside the jar to the power and glory of the Spirit of God. When we think of treasure we almost always think of money, of silver and gold. But the real treasure that God has entrusted to us is not money but his own word. What would we give in exchange for his word? How much is it worth? The Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient and priceless, were preserved for two thousand years in jars of clay. Those fragments of parchment and papyrus are now preserved in a museum, untouchable and inaccessible. But the real word of God is not like that at all. The real word of God is powerful and alive and we all carry it around inside our mortal bodies, inside our own clay jars. Sure, some of us are just a bit cracked and broken but that is how the treasure we all contain is finally brought to light. In fact, sometimes the Lord will intentionally place us in situations that will crack our jars, that will reveal both our weakness and his strength. Perhaps today you are facing a problem that seems to have no solution. Perhaps today you are in conflict with a person in your family or a person in your church. Jesus knows just how you feel. Jesus, the original Word of God, was often in conflict with the people around him. Even so, when we look at him we see that he did not insist on getting his own way, that he never forced anyone to obey him, and that he always forgave the people who hurt him. He humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. He knows how it feels to be weak. When I first went to Hungary sixteen years ago I was forced to let go of all the privileges that made me strong. I did not speak Hungarian very well so it was difficult to talk to people. I did not have any friends in Budapest to make me feel at home. And I discovered that the other Americans did not want to work with me. They said that I was too old and too weak to have a successful ministry. But the Lord had other plans for me. By his Spirit the Lord led me to a Hungarian church that accepted me and invited me to participate in their ministry. The pastor, Tivadar, became my dear friend. From that church we started a ministry to the churches in Romania, a part of old Hungary, where the Hungarians say they are “behind God’s back.” And for the next ten years the Lord blessed me as a teacher and a preacher, a minister of his word. Even in your weakness he has the power to bless you and make you a minister of his grace. I know this is true because he has done this for me. Pastor Joel Shigo ORDER BLANK - MEGRENDELŐLAP Please send all subscription orders and address changes to: Wilburn A. Roby Jr. • 264 Old Plank Rd.- Butler, PA 16002 e-mail: warair@embaramail.com Please enter my subscription for the Calvin Synod Herald. 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