Recently, my husband and I were driving through nearby New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Gazing absentmindedly out of my passenger window, I observed the city’s landscape. At one point, we drove past a scrap metal dump where a large backhoe was crushing and piling the scrap into a compact heap.
Suddenly, amongst the grey shades of old metal, something red caught my eye. I cried out, “Stop, stop!” As I scrambled for my camera. In the middle of heavy city traffic, we were not supposed to stop, but miraculously, at that very moment, the light turned red, and our car was stopped at just the right spot for my photo.
What had I seen? A child’s shiny, candy-red, Fire Fighter ride-in car perched on top of the scrap pile, awaiting its imminent destruction.
I could understand a former boy-owner having outgrown his beloved toy, but surely there were many little boys who would have spent countless hours enjoying the play possibilities the car offered. But, instead, the beautiful car sat where it so clearly did not belong — on the scrap pile.
An analogy clearly presented itself in my mind.
Every human being has value in the eyes of God, and yet some of us end up where we don’t belong — on the eternal scrap pile. Hell was not created for man but for Satan and his demons. God never intended for man to end up there.
Scripture tells us that God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9b NKJV)
We are separated from God because of our sin, but God sent out personal invitations to His covenant of salvation. You received one with your name on it and so did I. At the bottom of the invitation are the familiar letters: RSVP. Recognizing the impossibility of settling our own sin debt moves us with humble gratitude to accept God’s generous invitation and offer of free forgiveness. Trusting that Jesus has paid our sin debt is all that is required to keep us from the scrap heap of hell where we don’t belong!
John 6:37 – All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. (NKJV)
Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank You that Your love is big enough to embrace every person who ever lived on this earth. We thank You that even though we deserve hell because of our sin, we do not belong there. Cleanse us from our sin, known and unknown, and make us holy and worthy of Your kingdom. Amen.
Julie Klassen juliefrompearls@gmail.com
Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada