Do you buy used stuff? Websites like craigslist.com and many others have galvanized the used marketplace in a way that classified ads never could.
I’m looking for a used lawn mower. While I’d like to spring for a shiny new model from Home Depot, the size of my yard hardly justifies the expense… and so I watch for an adequate piece of used equipment. Hoping all the while that the oil-leaking, bailing-wire model I am presently using will hang together until the proverbial hand off of the baton. It owes me nothing, years of faithful service have proven that, but I’m not afraid to keep pulling the cord to request one more round.
While “used” may be great stewardship, it’s an unfortunate misconception in our spiritual life. When the message and hope of Christ is communicated adequately it invites us to the showroom, not a garage sale.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; the new has come. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:14
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. ~ Ezekiel 31:26
No refurbished parts. No stains, dents or dings from past use or abuse… but a new heart, a new life, a hope-filled start. Born new… again.
We trade our oil-leaking engines for shiny new lives. This is the good news.
Any shame is not just covered over; it’s replaced with a hope and a future.
From Goodwill to Nordstroms. From craigslist.com to the Detroit Auto Show.
I’ve seen the shame and pain in the face of a 17-year-old woman… and I’ve offered her more than a make-over. I’ve offered Jesus.
Religion puts a fresh coat of paint on a 1991 Oldsmobile; following Christ means we roll off the assembly line brand new.
This is why we can never stop talking about Jesus. This is why we have to go everywhere. This is why we go to tough places with rough people. It’s why we’re not fooled by a faccade of power and success. For as certainly as there are oil-leaking engines in our urban corridors, they are evident in corporate board rooms and church pews as well.
Nothing, absolutely nothing makes us new except the love and blood of Jesus. He paid for the exchange… and He didn’t shop at craigslist.
A soul transformed. New. What hope. What a promise.
Soli Deo gloria,
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