12 More Days!

Well according to my countdown, there are 12 more days until our team leaves for Thailand—unbelievable! I'm slowly transitioning from coming back home to packing up to leave; it's such an odd feeling...I can't wait to live short-term again in the Thai culture, yet I know it will be challenging to learn how to minister to the Thai university students, since this summer will be a different aspect of ministry than my last trip.

I want to share some verses from 2 Corinthians 4 that I love coming back to as a reminder while serving others and spreading the gospel of Christ (the first of which inspired the title of my blog :)...

6 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 Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed...

15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do no lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18 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.

Anyway, I just really like the metaphor Paul uses of us having “this treasure in jars of clay”...we're merely vessels to carry the gospel to others, and we should in no way try to bring attention to ourselves. The power and ability comes completely from the Lord—which is the only reason why we don't get crushed, abandoned, or destroyed by the worldly things surrounding us. May we always remember the eternal purpose we live for and thank our Almighty God for giving us the strength to accomplish it :)