We - you and I are those clay pots. The hard times we have been through have worn us down, and given us permanent scars.

How do I get that treasure, you may ask. What is it?

This treasure is Jesus Christ Himself. When we choose to believe that Jesus is Son of God, come to earth on that very first Christmas, He abides in us and will walk and talk with us, if we surrender our wills completely to Him. Devote yourself to Him 100% and be unashamed about letting Him shine through you. When hard things come upon you, defer to Christ's way of handling matter.

Like if, Christmas should be a rotten time for you this next week. Stop yourself short and consider what would be Jesus' totally opposite way of coping. Then do that!

People will notice, though they may not grasp what's going on. you probably won't either, until you've done it some time and then look back....

Why look at that! There's bright and lovely treasure showing through those cracks and flaws in you!

By responding in humility, like Jesus would, to those that wrong us, we grow in GODLINESS. That is, we're more and more like Jesus and God.

That humility and godliness will cause us to be alert and begin to spot others who have been hurt. Intuitively we'll spot them, and know how to help them better. So that suffering we have from false accusations enriches us after all, with KINDNESS.

Now we'll be trying to guide these weaker, hurting friends through these very steps to maturity, meaning that we are now reproducing ourselves, which is true LOVE and essence of God Himself.

Have you reached maturity in your character development? Or are you stuck at one of earlier stages? Sometimes, just seeing where you are, relative to where you are headed, can be a big help to get you moving forward again.

Let your light shine ever brighter and brighter!