This simple short story helps us to remember that we are God’s treasure in clay. Too often we act as though people are nothing more than clay balls.
“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 4:7
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 looked like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag with him.
As he strolled along the beach, he began throwing the clay balls, one at a time, into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little of it—until he dropped one of the balls, and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone.
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 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him: he had been on the beach a long time. He had already thrown maybe 50 or 60 of those clay balls into the ocean waves—each one filled with treasure. Instead of taking home tens of thousands of dollars in jewels, he had unknowingly thrown them away.
It’s like that with people. We often look at someone—even ourselves—and see only the outer clay vessel. It may not look like much. It may not be beautiful or sparkling, so we dismiss it. We judge it as less valuable than someone more stylish, popular, or wealthy.
But we have not taken the time to discover the treasure hidden inside—placed there by God.
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know someone, and if we ask God to show us that person through His eyes, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine.
May we not come to the end of our lives and realize we’ve thrown away a fortune in friendships and relationships—simply because the gems were hidden in bits of clay.
May we learn to see people the way God sees them.
Only those who are willing to see the wonder will find it.
Appreciate every single thing you have—especially your family and friends. Life is too short, and true friendships are rare.
I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with each of you.
And that’s what life is all about… relationships.
Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.
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