Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

            In this day and age, recycling and repurposing is a major concern for many people.  For some, it’s just another bunch of garbage or junk to be thrown out.  A man working at a local recycling business referred to himself once as “just a junk man.”  The person behind the counter at the time responded very strongly to let him know how important this occupation is, in fact they referred to it as “a high calling!”

            Actually, recycling of metal in particular, is a very interesting process. Metal scraps and junk are “put through the fire” in a process that refines it and removes the contaminants.  The purified material can then be made into something useful.

            When a sinner is saved, they are not just reformed, but they are so transformed that they are, as Jesus described it, “born again.”  In a sense, the person is recycled for use in God’s kingdom.  Malachi 3:2-3 prophecies that Christ will be like a refiner’s fire, and that He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.  When we make a decision for Christ and give Him our life, God wants to transform us, to purify us, to “recycle” us to use our interests and abilities to benefit His kingdom. The Apostle Paul is a great example of this. After he experienced a drastic change of heart and mind in Acts 9, his zeal for keeping the Law was “recycled” as a zeal for serving Christ.

            Peter is another example. He had always been bold in speaking his mind, but after Pentecost, that tendency was “recycled” into speaking boldly for Christ.

            God is still calling all people to Himself through His Word and His Spirit. Have we truly given ourselves completed to Him so that he can transform us and recycle our abilities (now impowered by the Spirit) for His glory?  Paul tells us to offer every part of ourselves to him as an instrument of righteousness.  Romans 6:13