Whether you are reading my weekly blog Treasure in Earthen Vessels by accident or by choice, you might be asking “What is the treasure?” You are not alone. Actually, that is the most asked question generating hits to my website.
It has been my question too, ever since God brought this scripture to my attention: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). Even though it has taken years to unearth its hidden message, my quest to find it has been worth every effort. My blog is about that treasure in 2 Corinthians 4:7 and here is why.
After leaving the busy, corporate world to work from home, I decided to pursue my love for writing in my spare time. I anticipated sitting beside my fireplace every morning and writing about the goodness of God to my life and my family—a picture of perfect bliss with a pen in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
Within months, my husband was diagnosed with fast-growing prostate cancer. Instead of the fireside chats with God that I had envisioned, my journals filled with real life experiences—more closely akin to scripts from reality TV shows as my faith was tested, tried, and stretched. Out of my search for God during this painful chapter of my life, that left me widowed at 53, I found an amazing truth. It had much to do with 2 Corinthians 4:7.
I had never been satisfied with the status-quo of Christianity. My thirst for more took me on an intense search into the writings of Oswald Chambers, Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor, Andrew Murray, Brother Lawrence, Henry Nouwen, and many others. I longed to find the secret they had found, yet had seemingly slipped through the cracks of much modern-day teaching.
What did they have? What did they know? What power were they able to tap into that set them apart as great men and women of faith? As I pursued “the pearl of great price,” I became the one who, when she discovered the treasure in the field, sold all, and bought the field that she might have the treasure also.1 My efforts were not in vain.
Today, I am a work-in-progress, and although discouraged at times with my lack of progress, the Holy Spirit continues to connect the dots for me. He has led me to the secret place, and through the writings of my faithful friends who made this journey before me, He is teaching me how to abide there.
Somewhere along the way, the meaning of 2 Corinthians 4:7 became perfectly clear—the Treasure is the Indwelling Holy Spirit.
My blog—also a work-in-progress—is dedicated to encouraging others to press on in their journey to find the Treasure. I post my findings, and yes, my struggles, as I continue to seek how to incorporate this immeasurably valuable truth into my everyday life.
I hope you will decide to join me in this pursuit—something I believe God fully intends for all of us to find. A comment by writer Chris Tiegreen points us in the right direction: “We never discover truth. It is always revealed.”2
Ann Voskamp yields another clue: “Because the God-likeness within our smallness speaks to Father-God in His magnificence. I hadn’t understood….that all wonder and worship can only grow out of smallness.” 3
Much awaits us. Clue after clue—may we seek to remove the earth, the worldliness that keeps God’s truths buried and unrevealed, except to those who make the effort to find them.
My post on November 22, 2012, The House Guest – A Short Story4, reveals some of my own personal findings in a fictional format. I hope you will check it out. And then, let’s get on with our spiritual expedition! ~ Janie Kellogg
1 Matthew 13:44-46
2 Chris Tiegreen, The One Year at His Feet Devotional, Tyndale House Publishers, March 12
3 Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, Zondervan, 167
4 The House Guest @ www.treasureinearthenvessels.net, Archives – November 22, 2012
TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS BLOG & BOOKS 
Bless you!
Thanks for reading and liking my post “What is the Treasure?” I am very blessed by our Amazing God. Blessings to you as well.
This is awesome. I was just searching for this chapter and this article came up. Now I have the full understanding. May God bless your works. May He give you more revelations of your dream. Please keep writing. You never know who gets bless.
Thank you for commenting on my blog. I am excited that you found some of the answers you were looking for. Only by God’s great grace are we able to find answers that much of the world is still looking for, but He is always true to His promise that those who seek will find. God bless you as you continue to seek. I’m right there too, always searching for more of Him. God bless. Janie
Janie, I’m weeping as I read this and had to stop so many times to dry my eyes! I’ll have to read again and soak it in. I had no idea of your husband. I knew that you had to have walked thru much pain as you are so sensitive. Can’t wait to email and share your truth of what God has shared with you. I think that each one can get better and then you send another! Wowser! God is gifted you in a huge way! Thank you for the blessing of your ministry!
Love you the MOSTEREST! Rom 12:1-2 Carla Young
Hi Carla, your email has touched my heart. The sad part of my story was 10 years ago, and I am proof that there is life after death!! I remarried four years ago and life is good again. That story has been on my welcome page all this time, but somehow I felt that no one had read it, so I decided to update and make it a current post. I also thought it was time to explain what/Who the Treasure is. I enjoy your comments and feedback so much. Please keep them coming. ~ Janie
Wonderfully written! Love it! I appreciate the shout- out to Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murry (some of my favorites). My all time favorite is Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place. I never tire of reading that.
Thanks for liking my post and leaving the great comment! I have absorbed Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest” every day for the past 13 years. I am so thankful for the many great written works that are there to make our journey easier. Like you, I never tire of reading them. God bless you!