Last Saturday our family dismantled our old pop-up camper. We took lots of trips in that camper and created some great family memories over the years, but two years ago, the cable system that raised and lowered the lid snapped, and since it was an older camper the cost of repairing it just wasn’t worth it. I hated to see it wasted though, and since I have been wanting a utility trailer to haul my mower, lumber and other things, I decided to re-purpose the camper frame.
So, we made a family day event out of it and stripped it down to the frame. It was kind of fun. My daughter was drilling out rivets, my son was zipping out screws and Lauri was wielding the crowbar. In just about 5 hours we had 2 big piles of scrap — one bound for the landfill and one to be recycled. Over the last few evenings, I have been building the deck and sides for my new utility trailer, and it is turning out really well. What had once been our broken family camper, now is a functional hauler. What was worn out — now has a new purpose. What was unusable — now has value.
In Ezekiel 36:26 God says, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Cool. God is the original re-purposer. He takes a heart hardened and corrupted by sin, and restores it through the work of Jesus on the cross — enabling Him to inhabit our hearts.
Lives without direction — suddenly have purpose. Hearts lived selfishly — now seek to follow God’s leading. And that which was spiritually dead — now has been made truly alive in Christ. I’m really glad I didn’t just haul that whole old camper to the junkyard — I think I am going to get some really good value out of that trailer. And I am glad that God didn’t just toss me aside when I lived in disobedience to Him. Instead, He was determined to see my heart re-purposed for His glory. Thank you, Lord, for taking what was unusable and making it usable!
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