2 Corinthians 4

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

2 Corinthians 4:7-11

"It has been said that the Roman Empire ran on olive oil. It was used in cooking, bathing, medicine, ceremonies, lamps, and cosmetics. For decades, olive oil from southern Spain was shipped to Rome in large clay jugs called amphorae. Those jugs, not worth sending back, were discarded in a growing heap of broken shards known as Monte Testaccio. The fragments of an estimated 25 million amphorae created that man-made hill, which stands today on the bank of the Tiber River in Rome. In the ancient world, the value of those pots was not their beauty but their contents."

This is a pretty neat metaphor. Like clay pots for precious olive oil, we are vessels carrying the gospel. Our bodies, like the clay jugs, are temporary, fragile, and expendable. In a society that values the outward appearances and abilities, the gospel is easily thrown aside and overtaken by seemingly greater things in life. But we need to keep it at heart the greatest treasure that we already have in us. It is only by God's grace and mercy that we may live and speak of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

Amen.