Reflections: Occasionally people will call across a crowded room to give a friend a message they could have done quietly and personally because they want others to listen in on the message. Sometimes this is unnecessary and annoying, sometimes it is quite helpful. Paul now tells the Corinthians that this is what he and God have been doing! Paul lives his life and tells his story of grasping hold of God’s promises made active in Jesus so that the Corinthians can see and hear. But wait there’s more! We now discover that Paul expects that having seen and heard the Corinthians will
benefit and take their part in this conversation across the crowded room. The Corinthians are invited into this story of life shown in – and through -adversity. Why? Because as each new clay jar is filled with treasure God is shown to be glorious.
Questions: Who has been a person in your life whose conversation with God across the crowded room of life has helped you grow in the life that Jesus gives? What did they say and do that helped you to see and hear God?
Prayer: Glorious God, we see your handiwork in the magnificence of creation. We read of your determination to bring life through Jesus’ own dying and living. May my living be a book read by others who will see and hear you at work, to bring life. Amen.