READ: 2 CORINTHIANS 4:6-7

Have you ever visited a bulk food store for groceries? More and more of these environmentally-conscious shops are popping up as a way to help reduce waste and save money. There are lots of items you can buy in bulk from big bins and dispensers, instead of buying these same items in small, disposable packages. In many cases, when people go to a bulk food store they bring their own glass jars or other reusable containers so they can get exactly how much they need and no more.

The other advantage of these kinds of shops? They also make grocery shopping really beautiful. Rows of big bins full of rice, beans, and pasta. Colorful crates overflowing with fruits and veggies. Walls lined with dispensers filled with golden honey, crunchy cereals, and dried fruit. Shelves with dispensers of things you can’t eat but still need—like liquid shampoo and dish soap. And finally, a cart full of glass jars as colorful as the store.

Whenever I go bulk shopping, I’m reminded of 2 Corinthians 4. In this Bible passage, Christians are compared to jars. Like a jar, none of us are complete unless we’re filled. On our own, we’re empty. We don’t love God and others, and we’re not able to save ourselves from sin and its consequences (Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 3:23-24; 6:23). For us to be complete, we need Jesus to fill us. Jesus is the only One who can save us from sin and death, and there’s nothing we can do on our own to fill ourselves with His love and salvation. It’s a free gift.

So, whenever I look at the jars I buy at a bulk store, I can see all the good things they’ve been filled with, and I remember all the ways Jesus has filled us with His goodness and love by the power of the Holy Spirit. • Aurora Scriver

• Read 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 and John 8:12. Even though we are “like fragile clay jars” (2 Corinthians 4:7), as Christians, how can it be comforting to know that Jesus is at work in us?

• When we put our trust in Jesus, He fills us with His goodness. We couldn’t do anything to earn the free gift of His love and salvation—that’s why He died and rose again so that we could be rescued from sin and death. His Holy Spirit lives in Christians, guaranteeing we will live forever with Jesus (Ephesians 1:14). According to 1 Timothy 1:14, what are some of the ways God fills us with His goodness? (If you want to dig deeper, read Romans 5:5-11 and Galatians 5:22-23.)

We ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7b (NLT)