When you look at the photos on this page, what do you see?
a. an old piece of junk?
b. a desk that has seen better days?
c. a piece of furniture with no good use?
d. a hidden treasure?
As my son and I were driving down the road the other day, I noticed this purple monster at the end of someone’s lane-way, placed there as the weekly garbage. I was already braking as I passed, in preparation for my abrupt u-turn just meters down the road.
I pulled into the lane, and smiled broadly at my son, who rolled his eyes, smiled back, and stated, “I figured” as he was opening his door, knowing that his growing biceps would be soon put to use.
A sign declaring ‘FREE’ was on the ground beside it, blown off by the gentle summer breeze.
The desk appeared upon first observation to be structurally sound, terribly dusty, and … purple. I quickly discarded those immediate observations for the ones my imagination was dreaming up … cleaned, freshly painted, and sitting in my loft … a place for me to sit and write, without the warming on my legs from my archaic laptop.
And so, my faithful son assisted me as I lifted it into the back of our van. Then assisted me to remove it from the van once home again.
As of bedtime it has been washed inside and out, sanded, and primed with a delightful ‘gripping’ primer (it grabs to any surface, even without sanding). Tomorrow begins the painting (not purple), and the fulfilling of my dream of the beauty I see under the dust, dirt and purple paint, in my minds eye. Tomorrow I plan to bring the beauty that I know exists, just under the surface, out with the eyes and hands of one who desires to redeem what first appeared as trash, into the treasure that it’s original builder had in mind.
This is how God as the original builder and creator, sees us. He knows fully the beauty, possibility and value that is beneath our selfishness, bruises, scars and sin. And it is He who redeems … cleans, makes new, purifies. It is the blood of His Son, not paint, that covers over the sins of our lives, and makes us as new … as we were always intended to be.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:13-14
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,”
1 Peter 1:3-4
itsawonderfilledlife 