This simple short story helps us to remember we are God's treasure in clay.
Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Genesis 2:7 NLT
GOD’S TREASURE IN CLAY
A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled the clay balls and dried them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him.
As he strolled along the beach, he threw the balls as far as he could, one at a time out into the ocean. He thought little about it, until he dropped one and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone - a treasure in clay!
Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the twenty or so balls he had left!
Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe fifty or sixty balls with their hidden treasure in the clay into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands…he had just thrown a great treasure away!
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It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we just see the external clay vessel. It may not look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We may see a person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well-known or wealthy. We have not taken the time to find the treasure in the clay—hidden inside that person.
There is a treasure and value in each and every one of us. God created man out of the dust of the ground. The Bible calls us clay vessels, yet God has created each of us in such a special way to hold His treasure - His Son, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit.
If we take the time to get to know a person, and, if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem is able to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.
“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 4:7 NLT
- Author Unknown
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If you liked this story and would like a copy of either of my books,
they are available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format:
If you have a story or testimony that you think might bless others,
I invite you to send it by email to me (Kenneth Kersey) at godsotherways@me.com.
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