But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body..knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

That God does not stop tragic events perplexes both the un-believer and believer^[1]. The evil found in this world may be driven by the evil one, but it is executed by humans. The responsible party is always one of us – the wicked heart causes unimaginable wrong. The Bible calls this sin – the world laughs and treats Christians and Jews with derision when we speak of sin – yet the consequence is evident everywhere. However, God authorises governments to exercise justice in a responsible manner, but never vengeance. Humans have no right to revenge wrong; for this is God's domain for only God can truly see the condition of the heart.

Why such evil? Simple, humans are free to do what they want – good or evil. The wise will be constrained by God's commands and will heed the Holy Spirit, the ungodly perhaps are restrained by government rules or constrained by one's conscience. But know this, God in His own time will ensure every person will given an account of their actions; the faithful are forgiven but the sinner is cast out.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose birth we are about to celebrate, provides a means to escape judgement and hell; for the wages of sin is death, which means being cast into hell, a subject currently avoided by most. A believer in Jesus Christ is comforted by God's grace, because his or her punishment has been laid on the shoulders of Jesus who died in the sinner's place paying the price of death for each believer, individually. This is the essence of Christmas and the birth of Christ, the Saviour of the World. Our faith and trust in Christ gives a believer future hope, but each believer still lives in a fallen wicked world, and in this God walks each step of the way with us, not to flatten the mountains, but to encourage each step.

The verse given here is a picture of humans as jars and cups made of clay used to illustrate the earthen vessels in their weak and helpless condition, and the exceeding greatness of the power of God. The power is manifested through the earthen vessels in trial and affliction. The earthen vessels may be troubled, afflicted on every side, but for the believer, the power keeps them from being stressed or distressed. Perplexed, persecuted and smitten down - such is the condition of the earthen vessels. But God’s gracious power is manifested in all these earthly and trying circumstances.

[1] This was written the morning after the deadful Bondi Beach (Sydney, Australia)  massacre, a direct attack on our Jewish community.