I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.
—Psalm 119:176
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
—Isaiah 53:6
“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?”
—Matthew 18:12
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
—Romans 7:18
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
—2 Corinthians 4:6-7
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
—Galatians 2:20
Beatrice Warde's 1930 essay titled The Crystal Goblet, or Printing Should Be Invisible makes a passionate case for an approach to typography that is challenged by some in the current time that emphasizes self, including self-expression. She claimed a parallel between excellence in typography and the design of a crystal goblet, "because everything about it is calculated to reveal rather than hide the beautiful thing which it was meant to contain."
After 175 verses that express thanks and praise for the Lord's word (precepts, commands, teaching, laws, instruction...), Psalm 119 ends in confession. The image of a lost and wandering sheep appears later in Isaiah and the teachings of Jesus to emphasize the faithfulness and steadfast love of the Lord who seeks and rescues. And along with Paul's repeated words of thanks and praise for the grace and mercy of the gospel, we find a confession of the inner struggle: delight in the path of the Lord versus the relentless pull of distraction, defeat, and death. But then Paul breaks through the crisis with thanks and praise to the Lord who “will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
And the light that the Father gives to the hearts of His people is not just for them. Jesus taught, “You are the light of the world.”
Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth that the glory belongs to the Lord, not the clay pots that house it while in this life. Clay pots and crystal goblets don't seem to have much in common, until we consider the purpose: to reveal and give glory to what they were intended to hold.
That doesn't mean that the Lord's people are to be drab or faceless, invisible or identical. Paul elsewhere writes of each part making its unique contribution to the health and well-being and growth of the body. That also means that the parts of the body don't claim glory, because that belongs to the Head.
The parts of His body are containers—vessels, pots, goblets—that are to reflect the love and shine the light of the treasure within.
Containers
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.
—Psalm 119:176
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
—Isaiah 53:6
“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?”
—Matthew 18:12
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
—Romans 7:18
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
—2 Corinthians 4:6-7
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
—Galatians 2:20
Beatrice Warde's 1930 essay titled The Crystal Goblet, or Printing Should Be Invisible makes a passionate case for an approach to typography that is challenged by some in the current time that emphasizes self, including self-expression. She claimed a parallel between excellence in typography and the design of a crystal goblet, "because everything about it is calculated to reveal rather than hide the beautiful thing which it was meant to contain."
After 175 verses that express thanks and praise for the Lord's word (precepts, commands, teaching, laws, instruction...), Psalm 119 ends in confession. The image of a lost and wandering sheep appears later in Isaiah and the teachings of Jesus to emphasize the faithfulness and steadfast love of the Lord who seeks and rescues. And along with Paul's repeated words of thanks and praise for the grace and mercy of the gospel, we find a confession of the inner struggle: delight in the path of the Lord versus the relentless pull of distraction, defeat, and death. But then Paul breaks through the crisis with thanks and praise to the Lord who “will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
And the light that the Father gives to the hearts of His people is not just for them. Jesus taught, “You are the light of the world.”
Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth that the glory belongs to the Lord, not the clay pots that house it while in this life. Clay pots and crystal goblets don't seem to have much in common, until we consider the purpose: to reveal and give glory to what they were intended to hold.
That doesn't mean that the Lord's people are to be drab or faceless, invisible or identical. Paul elsewhere writes of each part making its unique contribution to the health and well-being and growth of the body. That also means that the parts of the body don't claim glory, because that belongs to the Head.
The parts of His body are containers—vessels, pots, goblets—that are to reflect the love and shine the light of the treasure within.