Icons of Identity: Perfume, Letters, & Jars of Clay

I’ve been fixated on leadership a lot lately.

It’s a combination of working as a leader in the local church and seeing a lot, taking a seminary course on organizational change, and simultaneously being sucked into multiple media stories focusing on how poor leadership can cause major damage.

I empathically believe that a good leader is someone who is constantly reminding their people. Whether it’s a church, an organization, a company, or a team… a good leader reminds their tribe of what they might forget or cease to see. The acronym CRO, Chief Reminding Officer, is a cute little title you may have heard. Sometimes it’s a fresh reminder on vision, the “why” behind their cause, or — most importantly (imo): who they are.

The apostle Paul, arguably one of the greatest leaders in history, wrote letters to various churches which we read in the New Testament. One of the churches he founded was in the city of Corinth which was known for its corruption, division, and immorality. As this church began to flounder due to all the outside influences, Paul wrote to them. To remind them of who they were, who they were called to be, and their bigger purpose.

My favorite book of the Bible is Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, written about a year after the first. One of the reasons why is the context behind him writing it. Paul’s words in his first letter were beautiful yet challenging. He was met with a lot of disgruntled eye rolls and attacks on his leadership after that first letter. Did you know that? With that context, it makes the content of this second letter that much more raw and genuine.

Despite the annoyance or undermining of his work, Paul confidently and humbly writes to the church in Corinth yet again. In a powerful leadership move, instead of being reactionary he gracefully responds.

“Because leadership is necessarily an exercise of authority, it easily shifts into an exercise of power. But the minute it does that, it begins to inflict damage on both the leader and the led. Paul, studying Jesus, had learned a kind of leadership in which he managed to stay out of the way so that others could deal with God without having to go through him.” (Eugene Peterson)

What Paul does in 2 Corinthians is what every good leader should feel convicted of: he reminds them of their identity. My desire with the words below dear reader, is to offer you encouragement of that identity. An identity that holds true for you and I today as we call on the name of Jesus and desire to look more like Him.

Perfume. Letters of recommendation. Jars of clay.

Paul uses three icons — or illustrations, of beautiful meaning to remind us of the purpose we were created for in this life.

Your life is a perfume with an alluring fragrance… offering the aroma of Jesus to a broken, thirsting world.

“But thank God! … He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God… But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” (2 Cor. 2:14–16)

Your life is a letter of recommendation … offering the proof and witness of Jesus’ power to transform, restore, and renew.

“The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.” (2 Cor. 3:2–3).

Your life is an empty jar of clay… offering the true picture of what enduring through trial looks like. As well as the hope of the coming glory of God that’s beyond all comparison.

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but 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. 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” (2 Cor. 4:7–9).

Notice that with all three of these icons and images there’s an activation that’s happening. Paul reminds us that on our own, we are not sufficient. But thanks to the power of Jesus living and breathing within us through the Holy Spirit, our lives become infused with the fragrance… with the writing… with the treasure. “Our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant” (2 Cor. 3:5–6).

As I close out here, I have to confess this… I’m the type of person who is always seeking to know myself better. I’ve always had a natural bent towards being more self-aware and studying the psychology of how and why we act and think the way we do. I desire to challenge myself with ways I need to grow and evolve. However with that, I’ve been convicted lately. The world tells us that our deepest need in this life is self-actualization (thank you Maslow). And yet, the way to the blessed life that Jesus invites us into is one of self-denial. As I’ve been reflecting more on how Jesus lived his life and how I desire to mirror Him as much as possible… I think I’ve fallen short in understanding something major:

The purpose of my life is not to become the best version of myself. It’s to make more of Him and less of me. It’s to feel comfortable being the empty jar… because it’s when the jar is empty and vulnerable that the treasure becomes most illuminated.

As author Dane Ortlund says beautifully it’s “not adding Christ TO your life but collapsing into Christ AS your life.”

So in case you need reminding today friend: your life holds intrinsic purpose and value. May the reminder of your identity in Jesus as His aroma, His letter, and His jar filled with treasure be the wind in your sails to keep going… and to offer His presence in the wake of your waves.

This piece is an addendum of sorts to a sermon I preached called Poor in Spirit. I concluded the sermon with Paul’s encouragement in 2 Corinthians, and then realized there was so much more to be said… so a Medium post was needed ;)