Nothing Is Ever Wasted!

Junk into, treasure?  

My daughter Sarah is a pro, frequenting flea markets, rummaging through Craig’s list, and diving into dumpsters, to find the stuff folks discard -- and then -- transforming it -- into something, renewed.   A while back, Sarah visited the “Remnants of the Past” show in California and found others who share her passion for transforming junk; for example, Sarah met folks who reworked an old coffee table into a colorful swing – left-over fabric, into comfy pillows – and rusted metal into fun, joyful hearts!  I love the way folks in the ‘junk to treasure’ movement state their aim: it’s to repurpose, tattered, discarded stuff, into something new!

God’s aim is to repurpose, tattered, discarded stuff into something new.  That’s encouraging, for much of life, becomes distressed and tossed aside eventually; for life has a way of ‘pounding us’ and ‘spiting us out.’ But through God, in Christ, there’s an alternative to being hit and spewed, we can be repurposed, redeemed, in spite of the inevitable tumble and trauma.  And so prophet Isaiah counsels:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.   When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord your God.”  (Isaiah 40:1-3, emphasis added).

There are manifold implications of this sentiment, including a ‘take-away’ for the ‘time of our life’:  nothing is every wasted.   Often we hear folks say they are killing time or have squandered time - but in reality -- any time given back to God -- in any condition -- can be repurposed by the Creator -- who not only has created but continues to create.   

Such certainty fuels life -- for life moves -- no matter the travail or tragedy -- as we are convinced that every aspect of our days can be utilized for a noble, godly cause.  There’s a necessity in grasping such truth, for we all have mismanaged our days.  Said bluntly:  we all have had episodes in which we have squandered time, wasting it: in trivia, bad choices, sloth, brutal activity and sin.

The hardest trash to believe redeemed is the waste of sin.  In essence, sin is moral rebellion against the Creator of the Universe.   But more specifically, sin is anything I prioritize other than God and God’s priorities.  To be precise, in the words of John Piper:

            “It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced.

The greatness of God not admired. The power of God not praised.

The truth of God not sought. The wisdom of God not esteemed.

The beauty of God not treasured. The goodness of God not savored.

The faithfulness of God not trusted. The commandments of God not obeyed.

The justice of God not respected. The wrath of God not feared.

The grace of God not cherished. The presence of God not prized.

The person of God not loved…"  (John Piper.  'What Is Sin?  The Essence and Root Of All    
                        Sinning.  Desiring God Blog.  February 2, 2015.  www.desiringgod.org / messages/ 
                        origin-essence-and-definition-of-sin)

The result of such misplaced priorities is a life, that in due course, truly becomes wasted.  For without the certainty of something absolute (e.g. God) any sense of hope deflates, and we descend into despair.  Despair, for philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, is what results from sin.  For as we prioritize something/someone other than that which is absolute, God – when we sin – we lose traction in life and fall deeply.  

Now the ‘marque stories’ of a despairing/wasted/sinful life are well known:  the collapse of health, because of illicit drug use or reckless drinking/eating – the collapse of finances because of indulgent spending or compulsive gambling – the disintegration of reputation because of serial lying or a public scandal.  But much of sin’s waste, shows-up in more subtle expressions of misplaced priorities.  These less demonstrative ‘sin-centers’ appear inconsequential, but are just as despairing, and deadly.  Tim Keller lists a number of these ‘less obvious’ locales of sin.

“…If you center your life and identity on your family and children, you will try to live your life through your children until they resent you or have no self of their own.  At worst, you may abuse them when they displease you.  If you center your life and identity on your work and career, you will be a driven workaholic and a boring, shallow person.  At worst…if your career goes poorly, [you’ll] develop deep depression…If you center your life and identity on religion and morality, you will, if you are living up to your moral standards, be proud, self-righteous, and cruel.  [At worst] if you don’t live up to your standards, your guilt will be utterly devastating…”   (Tim Keller. A Reason For God.  Belief In An Age of Skepticism. New York: Dutton, 2008. pp. 275-276.)

But there is an alternative:  we can re-center our life, once again, around Christ and Christ alone. For God, indeed, does delight in redemption. God's delight, continually reappears in Israel's life, as Israel's continually relearns the necessity of re-centering life around the one true God, alone. God's delight is especially exuberant in Ezekiel 36:

“…the mountains of Israel will [once again] produce branches and fruit…[For] I am concerned for you [my people] and will look on you with favor -- [and so] you will be [tilled] and [supplied]…I will multiply [your] number….[your] ruins will be rebuilt…and [I] will make you prosper more than [ever] before…”  (Ezekiel 36:8-11, emphasis added).

For when it comes to the waste of life, God is ultimately about protection, not punishment; restoration, not retribution.  

Before you assume re-centering toward God is simple, get ‘real’ about the complexity of letting someone else be central other than self and self-interest.  It’s ego-deflating!  

But, there is no other way, for left to our own devices, we will always waste and fail.   But Jesus never fails, continuing to lavish unmerited favor, love, and yes, grace, in spite of our rebellion. 
  
But we must receive Christ’ gracious offer, adopting a posture of receptivity and not activity.   Paul Tillich, in a classic sermon, gives the detail:  we must be struck by the grace, experiencing the ambush of God’s unmerited favor. 

“[For] grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness…It strikes us when our disgust of our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction…have become intolerable to us.  It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign…when despair destroys all joy and courage…Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying:  You are accepted.  You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you…Do not try to do anything…Do not seek anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything.  Simply accept than fact that you are accepted…” (Paul Tillich.  The Shaking Of The Foundations.  New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948.  pp. 161-162.)

As the story goes, Christina longed to see the world.  And so, she left her poor Brazilian home and headed for Rio.  But she did so recklessly, leaving without money, resources, or any hope of a job.  And so, her mother pursued her; after all, anything could happen:  rape, prostitution, homelessness.   But before leaving, her mother did an unusual thing:  she went to a bus station photo booth, and had strips of photos made, of herself; photo after photo after photo.  Well, in due course Christina’s mother landed in Rio and began her search.  She searched through bars.  She searched through nightclubs.  She searched through hotels.  But in every case, she left one of her photos; on bathroom mirrors, on hotel bulletin boards, on corner phone booths – she left one of her photos.  And then she went home.  Weeks later, Christina wondered through a Rio bar; not surprisingly, she was wasted; drugs, sex, violence had all left their mark.  But then she saw one of those photos. Removing it, her hands trembled, as she looked at her mother’s face.  But then, she turned it over.   And on the back, were these words:   “Whatever you’ve done, whatever you’ve become, it doesn’t matter.   Please come home.” And Christina did. (adapted.  Max Lucado.  No Wonder They Call Him The Savior.  OR:  Multnomah Press, 1986.  pp. 158-159.)

As we consider the waste of our life -- of time squandered -- we hold a similar photo, a photo of the definitive, loving parent:  God, in Christ.   And on the back, are the same words:  “whatever you’ve done, whatever you’ve become, it doesn’t matter.  Please come home.”    

For God, in Christ, doesn’t see us wasted, but repurposed.  Not junked, but treasured.  Not ruined, but restored, and, indeed – redeemed.