"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." 2 Corinthians 4:7-18
I am a big coffee drinker! I remember starting at the ripe age of 4. My Grandpa was coming in from the farm to visit us, having a cookie or two my Grandma had set out and a good old-fashioned cup of coffee. I would slurp the remainder that he put in his saucer to dunk his cookie in, mixed with a bit of sugar, and that was the start of my Americano addiction.
As an adult, all sorts of mochas and café lattés beckon, but I’m slowly pursuing simplicity, and “less is more” life is tea. What? Yeah, I know. It’s a big shock to the system, but it’s a good switch, too. Tea is all the rage lately because of a fancy Netflix show called Bridgerton, placed during the Regency Era.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the English “Ton” would sit and sip their delicate tea out of fancy porcelain cups embossed with beautiful patterns of flowers or gold filigree while they gossiped or were called on. If you now stop at a Home Goods or Hobby Lobby, you will see fancier teapots and cups all around you. I have to admit, I find myself stopping to admire them because I’m a sucker for
prettier things in life. I even bought myself a little teapot. Its surface is white porcelain with dark gray polka dots, Tiffany blue accents of Toile De Jour, and gold accents. It is lovely, and I anxiously await a friend to come to my house of men to have tea with me!
Teapots have been around for about 500 years, invented first by the Chinese, and thus, the love for warm drinks spread worldwide. While there are teapots of various sizes and beauty that you can buy, one stands out from them all. It is the Yixing Tea Pot from China. It is not porcelain or fancy at all. It looks rather plain in comparison. It is made from clay. Yixing Tea Pots are extremely valuable. Looking at this tiny teapot, you would wonder why, but it’s in the hands of the Craftsman that this pot finds value.
It takes a Master Craftsman many years to perfect making a Yixing Tea Pot. This clay comes from a particular area of China from rocks that are crushed to powder and mixed with water. Then it rests for some time and turns into clay for a single purpose, as each rock source lends its color palette, each batch will be unique, although they can be mixed. That is up to the Master Craftsman. Once the clay is sourced, created, and ready for use, the Master Craftsman must have his measurements and math perfect to create the teapot. So, calculations must be exact for balance and weight, and cracks must not form between each section when the clay enters the fire.
Each teapot design is unique and a work of art.
It is not thrown on a wheel like most clay pots or jars. It is cut from pieces of clay and fashioned by hand. Each piece is chosen. Each piece is lovingly cut and rolled, smoothed, and all imperfections and impurities that might hinder the vessel are removed by the Master Craftsman. Then, each piece is scored, fitted, and fashioned into place to make the vessel the Master Craftsman desires. A waiting before finishing touches: spout, lid opening, accents, handle. Some slight drying is allowed, and more waiting. Any imperfections that show up during the drying time can then be repaired or taken out, further smoothing of the surface and filing are then completed. This last part can take days before the vessel is ready for the fire.
When it’s time for the firing, the pressure, the Master Craftsman will often fill the pot with sand to prevent any cracking or warping. The temperatures, humidity, and measurements must be perfect. Ultimately, the vessel comes out unscathed, lid in-line, which is not often the case. Now, you have a brand new teapot that needs to be seasoned and used. This takes many, many years. This is another reason for the value of the Yixen Tea Pot. The aristocrats of the time learned that the Yixen clay, being slightly porous, gave the pot the ability to take on the aroma of whatever it held over time. The unglazed little pot would eventually soak in the tea's oils. They would pour hot water over the teapot to heat it as they steeped the tea inside. Over time, the exterior unglazed pot would develop a patina that showed an effervescent glow, each vessel unique to its rock-clay origin.
Nothing was more elegant during the Yuan Dynasty than to use a Yixen Tea Pot for your Chinese Tea Ceremony. You welcomed your guests into your home with tea and a small Yixen Tea Pot that showed a patina, demonstrating you were refined because it wasn’t just for “show” for guests. It represented you did this on a regular, daily basis. You performed tea ceremonies for yourself and your family. You loved on your teapot, and the vessel shined because of it.
In 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NIV), Paul writes to the church in Corinth.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."
Paul simply illustrated a vessel the Corinthian people were familiar with. Clay vessels. They are ordinary and used for mundane tasks but go through a severe and harsh process to do a job that brings impressive results. The “treasure” he was referring to is the Gospel of Jesus, how He can shine through us to all those around us. At this time, Paul was concerned for this group of believers. They had a lot of fighting, division, and disagreements among their members. He discusses the persecution he had already undergone and how, as believers, we can know we will face opposition but find hope and take courage because Jesus gave us ultimate victory over death on the cross.
Each of us is a vessel
Our Master Craftsman, God, who planned and crafted us lovingly with his hands, will sometimes keep us in “a waiting”- a drying period. Maybe things in our lives, impurities or hurts, need to rise to the surface that He needs to take out lovingly. If we are honest with ourselves, we bring them to Him. He does the painstaking work of cleaning out the small pebbles and air bubbles. He smoothes our surface edges. He creates details and perfects our vessel over time. Then we go through the fire but are not crushed or abandoned. He is there through it all, waiting for the process to be complete. Sometimes, it feels like we are in the fire repeatedly, and that is life. Paul continues and says,
"Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly, we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 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 (NIV)
When we emerge from the fire, we are vessels ready to serve for His glory. In serving God, what we pour into our lives will be reflected on the surface. Spending time daily soaked in the presence of the Holy Spirit is like the oil seeping into the interior of our vessel’s surface, creating an aroma for all to witness. The more time we do our “ceremony”- spending time with God in prayer, in worship, reading the Bible-knowing Him deeper, the more our effervescent surface will appear. God’s light, his presence, will be all about us. In everything we do, actions, words, activities, and God’s presence, the fruit will be
abundant in us.
Our vessels are unique works of beautiful art created by the Master Craftsman.
We are of unobtainable value. No price is high enough to pay for how valuable you are to God, but sin created a deep chasm between us and God. That’s why a spotless, perfect lamb- the Lamb of God-Jesus, had to be the perfect sacrifice. It was the only person valued high enough to cover the cost of sin. That is how much God loves you and me.
The next time you sit down to a simple cup of tea, think about your vessel, your heart. What are you pouring into your life? Is it things that will give an aroma that pleases God? Maybe there are things in your heart that you need to bring to God to clean up, or maybe you are in a season of waiting for something, a drying. Or perhaps you’re in the fire. It’s okay. He is there through it with you. Talk to Jesus about it, He understands, He was human, too. Even though it’s hard in the process, take heart: when you come through on the other side, you will find yourself more substantial, with an incredible story and a shimmer to your surface that can only be explained by the One who created you.
