Salvageable

G

rowing up in a small town had several advantages.  One of these perks was knowing most of the people by name and where to find help when you needed it.  Although our downtown area was small, you could find most anything you needed.  Mr. Ferguson ran a local hardware store, Mr. Eaker, Mr. Doty, and Mr. Hudson sold men’s clothing, Mrs. Costner ran a dress shop for women, Mr. Mabry ran a home and auto store, Mr. Roy Carpenter and his cousin Troy ran a small grocery store, and there were several other shops, including three barbershops, a café, and a hotel.

In time, some of these businesses closed and others took their place.  New business also opened, offering more variety to the downtown area.  One of these stores was simply known as, “The Salvage.”  This store was opened in the late 1980’s by the local trucking company.  Refused freight made its way back to the salvage to be sold to the general public for reduced prices.

The Salvage opened every Wednesday morning.  As soon as the door opened, people piled in, rummaging through boxes, flipping through containers, and examining all the items on the display floor.  Sometimes there were very good bargains to be had, and at other times there was very little to get excited over, but every time you could find something you could use or just wanted.  Something of very little value to one person was a treasure to another.  This was the allure and the magic of The Salvage.

Would it surprise you to know that the concept of the salvage store is found in the New Testament?  In first letter to the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul, spells out in great detail the activity described above.  It’s almost as if he was peering through the window of “The Salvage”, watching people do their rummaging.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 reads, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”

Have you ever thought about God this way?  Paul’s description of these believers is not flattering.  They were not the most intelligent, not the most influential, and they were not noble.  Yet, God chose them to be his servants.  That is just like God, isn’t it?  What the world calls junk, he calls worthy.  What the world rejects, he openly accepts.  What the world despises, he loves.  And the result is the world’s confusion and God’s glorification.  God just doesn’t do things the way the world thinks he should and I, for one, am so glad.

Yes, God visits salvage shops.  Instead of rejecting mankind because of his sin, God accepted him.  He decided we were salvageable.  So, he blew off the dust, gave us the once over, saw the worth that his son could bring to us, and he salvaged us!  What a wonderful thought and blessing for us today.  We are no longer on the shelf collecting dust; we are now on permanent display in God’s trophy case!  Not bad for a piece of junk, is it?