Yard Sale Salvation

I learned something new yesterday -- yes, it occasionally happens!

Want to know what I learned? I learned that yard sales are a world unto themselves, a veritable counterculture of deal-seeking bargain hunters. Yep, it's a yard-eat-yard world out there, where unsuspecting amateurs have nary a chance!

Yesterday we had a yard sale as a fund raiser for our youth group. What a wonderful experience! We met some great people! Some of them were obviously part of the yard scene. Others were curious tourists -- mere dabblers in the sport of yardery. The hardened yardalists were easy to spot in the crowd. They showed up out of nowhere, a half an hour before the sale was scheduled to start. Like locusts off the dry prairie, they descended upon the tables to pick and plunder. When they were done, all that was left were the carcasses of a few nondescript nicknacks and a pile of clothes destined for that great rag shop in the sky.

And what were they looking for? It can be summed up in one word -- BARGAINS! They were after the rare, the treasured, the missing piece to a set. Some specialized in clothes, others on records, still more on books. Bottom line, people have only so much money and yard sales can be a great place to find what you're looking for at the price you want to pay.

So, what's the spiritual bargain in this deal? One person's junk is another's treasure. One person's clutter is another's collectible. Let me state it this way -- the value we place on something is subjective. I no longer value something enough to keep it around; you on the other hand value it enough to pay for it -- that's the law of the yard sale.

So the question is: What about you? What are you worth? Again, the answer's going to be subjective, isn't it? You might be worth a lot to your family, but zip to the neighbor across the street who doesn't like the dandelion count on your lawn. You may be worth lots to a car salesman until you sign on the dotted line. Then . . . You may have been worth something to your employer, but then in this day of cutbacks and downsizing: "I'm sorry, I'm afraid your position has been deemed obsolete. In this crazy world that values baby seals more than human lives, there's nothing that can guarantee our desirability or worth.

But in God's Kingdom, things are different. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." We were bought at a price. What price? The price of God's own Son. The price of blood shed on a cross. Let's face it. You and I were on display at the cosmic yard sale, gathering dust because our sin, our weakness, our rebellion had left us so tarnished that no one would consider us valuable. No one that is, except God. He valued us enough to send His Son to pay our price. Amazing!

The next time your neighbor, your family, your employer, the world in general, or your own heart tells you that you're worthless, just look up. Look up and thank God for once and for all determining your eternal worth to be far greater than the life or comfort of His own Son. Now, you tell me, who got the better end of this bargain?

[ © 1997-1999 By Grant MacDonald -- {used with permission} ]