Junkyard Jesus

Have you ever been to the junkyard?

I was at the landfill in a neighboring town the other day and right next to the landfill was a huge junkyard. Every kind of car imaginable is there.

It looks like a scene from The Book of Ely. Rusted cars, gutted cars, demolished and compacted cars. Some appear to be intact but there is nothing under the hood. For the most part, the cars are just shadow of what they once were when they were created.

When those cars came down the assembly line, they were beautiful. They were in mint condition. Painted to a high luster finish. All of the parts were in perfect place and the smell......oh yeah. That new car smell.

Then something happened.

Somewhere between the time that awesome new creation came off of that assembly line and the day I saw them at the junkyard, something went wrong.

Some were in accidents, some were vandalized, some just got old and the elements had finally taken their toll on them. Either way, they no longer have value.

Or do they?

There are people that frequent junkyards looking for spare parts. They search and search for the right make and model in the hope that when they find the car they are looking for, that it still has the component they need.

So there is still value in those old broken cars.

Did you know that Jesus loves the junkyard.

It's true.

We all started off in life as infants. Carefully crafted in the womb, unblemished and innocent.

However, somewhere between that birthday and today, something happened.

There is damage.

Some of us look like we are in great shape, until you look under the hood.

Some of us have just been demolished and it's extremely evident.

Some of us have been beaten down by the elements. Some have been physically abused, some have been raped, drug addictions, eating disorders, cutters...........outcasts.

Some of us have just found ourselves in the junkyard.

But there is hope.

Jesus loves the junkyard.

He loves to spend time looking for makes and models that have been stripped and tossed aside for scrap because He knows there is value there.

If you have gone through life feeling like you have been outcast, if you have been demolished by people or life's elements, I just need to tell you something...

You are valuable to Him. He specializes in damaged goods......

And He is looking for you.

Effin' changed

This post may be a bit raw. It's supposed to be, so if you're offended easily then don't read it.

Last week I was sitting in a room with this guy about my age.

He has spent the last 20 years of his life addicted to Crack and alcohol.

20 years.

I get frustrated when I struggle with something for 5 minutes. I can't even wrap my mind around 20 years of trial. This guy has seen his friends die from overdoses. He has seen his family destroyed from the effects of the drug abuse, and had been in and out of rehab facilities more than 15 times.

About 6 weeks ago, he walked into the doors of our church campus (which happens to be located in a bar). He revealed to me the night I sat down with him that the only reason he came to check out the church was because he was hungover and he thought he might be able to get a Bloody Mary during service. He was a little disappointed to find out that we didn't serve alcohol during church.

He described to me in detail how over the weeks following his first visit to our campus, that his life has done a 180.

These are his words......

"My life was a f***ing mess"

He began to well up with emotion and he paused.

"Something happened to me when I stepped into the church.......I have never clapped to a worship song before. I never really focused on a message before.......I even gave some money in the offering plate for the first time ever."

We laughed for a minute.

"Jesus has changed me and I don't have to feel sh*tty anymore."

"I am getting my sh*t together and I'm going to help other people find help and hope."

"I'm Effin' changed"

This guy was a Christian in the most raw form. Too young in the faith to care about his word choices. Too excited about what Jesus was doing in his life to care if his word choices offended me. Basically he lacked the artificial facade that some of us seasoned Christians have developed over time.

.......AND I LOVED IT!!!!!

Now......I don't swear, and if I am in a room of people throwing around swear words like it's going out of style, it usually doesn't take long for them to recognize that I'm not participating.

It's easy to get prideful about it too, so last week made me think to myself......

Would Jesus rather be in a room with me carefully selecting my words, or....

Would Jesus rather be fielding uncensored f-bombs from the excitement of the transformation that He alone is responsible for?

Reflection on this makes me want to thank Him that I am Effin' changed.