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 God’s glory displayed 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.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
It's easy to become perplexed by the shadows of invisible forces, like the swirling dark spots on the pool bottom - not true shadows but refraction of light through eddies in the water's currents. Our eyes see a shadow but not its source. Sometimes we go through fits of melancholy and struggle with illusions and confusion about our own perceptions. It's overthinking everything and forgetting to let go of our own understanding, weak jars of clay that we are.
God put great divine treasure within us (eternity in the human heart), even though we are fallible and frail, made of earth and water just like jars of clay. And while we live, and rejoice and give thanks for this living, we also feel the pain of loss when our loved ones' jars fall empty and broken. Life crushes us all eventually, back to the dust from which we are formed. But our light lives on.
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. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
2 Corinthians 4:8-12
I keep thinking about the movie The Waterboy. Silly as it is, it touches this theme of allowing ourselves to be perplexed and overcome by our own perceptions and illusions. The Mud Dogs' coach didn't know how to move past his playbook being stolen and used against him until the Waterboy gave him the advice to replace the image of his foe with something cute and nonthreatening. Likewise, when we are struggling we should look at the divine treasure within instead of trusting the reflection of the world in our eyes.
16 Therefore we do not 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, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
