Dented Up and Rusted Out

by Evelyn Waite

 

We were driving through town the other day and saw a flatbed truck hauling a car that was dented up and rusted out. Mildly curious, I asked my husband what he thought the owners of that car would do with it…what they could do with it in its condition. He answered that it depended on whether they were in the restoration business or in the demolition derby business. What an incredible answer!

 

There are two forces at work in the spiritual realm—God, who is in the restoration business and Satan, who is in the demolition business. Satan delights in demolishing souls. He deceives with great promises that if we only compromise our faith a little bit, we will get that big bonus or that promotion. If we just cheat a little on our taxes, we can spend more providing good things for our families. If we just use a few drugs, we will fit in with the crowd. If we just drink a little alcohol, we will be able to relax and feel more confident when talking to strangers. If we will just act on the sensual impulses we feel and sleep with that person to whom we are not married, we can experience thrilling sexual gratification. The list goes on: pornography, lying, gossiping, self-indulgences of all kinds.

 

What Satan does not reveal is the end result of those behaviors. Cheaters nearly always get caught and pay a price, sometimes in the penal system. The drugs used recreationally so often prove to be addictive, and soon we are controlled by them. Alcohol soon chains us to a bottle in a never ending pursuit of courage, relaxation, etc. Illicit sex breaks the sacred vows of marriage, destroys trust between husbands and wives. In this day and time, extra-marital sex often leads to a premature death from ravaging diseases. Hearts and minds polluted by filthy morals and sinful habits often find it extremely difficult if not impossible to change.

 

On the other hand, God is in the restoration business. He loves us. His love is so deep that he paid the ultimate price to redeem our souls. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” Though we owe so great a debt, we cannot pay for our own sins, yet God did so by allowing his own perfect, sinless son to die in our place on the cruel cross of Calvary. He restores our souls to a wonderful relationship with Him. He blesses us so bountifully, and gives us strength and courage to handle whatever comes our way. His promises are not empty and deceitful—they are true and everlasting. He waits patiently, like the prodigal son’s father, for us to come to our senses and return to Him, to put Him first in our lives.

 

That dented up, rusted out old car looked hopeless and useless to me, but a collector could see the beauty hidden underneath the rust and the possibilities beyond the dents. Do our souls ever look dented, rusted, hopeless, even useless? Those in the car collecting business take an old, seemingly useless car and lovingly restore it to its original grace and beauty. In an even grander, more loving way, God takes our sin stained souls lovingly shapes us into the children He wants us to be.

 

Praise be to God, He can see beyond the dents and rust, beyond the pain and fear and hopelessness we sometimes feel. He gently smoothes out the dents in our souls and molds us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus. He carefully removes the rust and decay from the sins in our lives…in other words, he cleans us through and through, shines us up, and presents us proudly as His own children.

 

I am reminded of the words of an old hymn:

 

            Bring Christ your broken life,

            So marred by sin.

            He will create anew,

            Make whole again.

            Your empty wasted years

            He will restore,

            And your iniquities,

            Remember no more.

 

Just as the dented, rusty old car has great potential with the loving care of the restorer, so our souls can be heaven bound with the loving care of the Master Restorer.

 

  

 Evelyn Waite and her husband, Loyd, live in Rolla, Missouri, where Loyd is an elder in the Highway 63 South congregation of the Lord’s church. They have two grown sons who are both faithful Christians. She grew up in New Mexico and earned her bachelor’s degree from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico. Evelyn is the office manager in a law firm in Rolla. She teaches Ladies Bible Class and is a contributor to the Ladies Corner on their congregation’s website, www.63SouthChurchofChrist.com.

 

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©Copyright 2002