After Joni Eareckson Tada’s mother died, Joni thought about how our bodies are like “jars of clay” that hold the treasure of Christ’s presence. She mused about a modern equivalent to describe our earthly bodies—a cardboard box. She knew her mother’s “box,” with its worn-out corners and bends, was now empty. But, she reflected, it was a box they’d treasured, “the vessel in which the treasure of the Spirit of Christ had dwelt.”

As Joni notes, those who follow Jesus let Him shine through them, often in spectacular ways through the creases and holes as their boxes collapse with age. In this she followed Paul’s words about the treasure appearing in “jars of clay” because it would reveal that “this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Although Paul was “hard pressed” and “perplexed” with what he suffered, he was not “crushed” or “destroyed” (vv. 8-9). Through his sufferings in his body, he knew that Christ’s life would be revealed.

How’s your cardboard “box”? You might feel the creases grow larger as you groan under the weight of pain or disease. Know, however, that Jesus is being revealed in your body (v. 10). As you submit to Him, He’ll shine His light through you, so that those who are in darkness may receive His love and His life.