The Light Of His Presence

God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7

Paul reminds us that the same In-the-Beginning God who spoke light into being has made light to shine in our darkness, the light that has come in the presence—the face—of Jesus Christ.

Imagine a clay pot, all cracked and with pieces broken out of it. Not attractive. Not valuable. Ready for the trash heap.

Now imagine that this clay pot has light inside it. Where does the light show through? At the broken places.

Now imagine water pouring into that clay pot. What happens? The water pours out through the broken places. If water keeps on pouring in, then water will keep flowing out.

If your goal was for the pot to hold the water in, the pot full of cracks would have been a poor choice. But if your goal was for the water to flow out, you couldn’t have found a more perfect pot.

Maybe this is what Paul meant when he wrote these words: “‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Who could have seen that coming? When Jesus made his home in the lives of human beings, he sought out the broken ones: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Mark 2:17).

Jesus, shine through my broken places.

He comes to us in the brokenness of our health, in the shipwreck of our family lives, in the loss of all possible peace of mind, even in the very thick of our sins. He saves us in our disasters, not from them. . . . He meets us all in our endless and inescapable losing.

Robert Farrar Capon(1925–), American priest and author