Maybe you can help me with this one, I don’t get it. Years ago when we
were kids Coke came in glass bottles, and you paid a penny deposit. When
hurting for cash for that nickel Tootsie Roll, you went searching in the fields
until your wagon was filled with pop bottles, then took then to the the store
and redeemed them for coins, and then bought your candy bar. For a while I
actually thought they grew in fields, or that was where people stored them, as
the lot on the corner of Princeton and South Ave. was always a guaranteed candy
bar or two, particularly when finding a big quart bottle-5 cents all at once!
Just for you, no investment required, except for your wagon. But as we got
older, and pulling a wagon wasn’t cool, the soft drink industry was coming out
with plastic one way bottles, OWB’s, or throwaways. No deposit, and slowly a
steady stream of revenue was gone for those who depended on deposit bottles for
their income. But when the land fills became over run with plastic bottles, we
used to call them dumps, how trendy we have become, they decided to put a
deposit on them, and now we either throw them away, forfeiting the deposit, or
store them at home for the semi-annual trip to the recycling center. Where on
any Saturday morning dads came be found emptying the mini-van of their bottles
and cans, and going home $20-30 richer, and creating an empty space at home to
repeat the process. But many times the ones who fill the recycling lines are
older, poorer, and this may be there extra money for the month. We call them
dumpster divers now, and we see them in all age groups, sadly many the same kids
who once hustled for a penny, now hustling for a dime. We have come full
circle, with trash becoming a commodity, sometimes more valuable than the
person. We are still a throwaway society, but now have also become a recycled
one also. To the point so many new products are made from recycled items. I
almost bought some lawn chairs years ago until I found out they were made from
recycled milk cartons-I just had to draw the line somewhere, even if it is
imaginary. I have yet to see any kid cruising for milk bottles yet, I must not
travel in the same circle.
So we recycle, and you knew it was trendy when BMW bragged that
they built their cars from recycled plastic, and they were designed to be
recycled. And as I see the old time junk man now being called the scrap metal
recycler, each shop I ever worked in had one, now I know where BMW parts are
sourced. Are they still the ultimate driving machine? Do we dare look under
the fender to see if it says Coors on it? How much for my old mag wheels? Is
it worth more dead than alive? When will the 10 cent bottle be passed over and
people start cruising for car parts to recycle? Leaving again the kids needing
money for candy...and we have come full circle. Maybe that is what BMW’s
original logo meant..and why we don’t see it any more. Now I am not against
being wasteful, but cannot look at my motorcycles as parts donors for the
recyclers. I am an organ door on my license, but wait a minute, my
motorcycles? But yet, when I needed a part the other day for my old Suzuki, and
it was discontinued, where did I go? Motorcycle salvage yard-so maybe recycled
parts do have a place in society, just not melted down and reused for
furniture. I shudder to see the time when I find Honda or HD stamped on the
bottom of a chair.
Yet recycling is a big business today, but is not new. Jesus
has been in the recycling business for years, except He does it with the most
valuable commodity on earth-people. People that society has decided aren’t
worthy any more, or who don’t fit in a mold, who have fallen into disarray or in
jail, this is where He does His best recycling. What you were is not as
important as who you are, and He loves you just as you are. No deposit, no
return may work on bottles, but not on people. Years ago Jesus made a deposit
for us, He paid the price for our salvation, and today we anxiously await His
return. And the recycling He offers is in the form of being born again, a new
heart for God, and then a life to follow after it. But some reject His offer,
not believing His claims. Some just make excuses and call it religion. But for
those of us who have accepted His offer, it means life. Not recycled, but made
new! We will never be used to be a part of anything else-we get to be just as
God created us, and to worship and adore Him in our new state! And when we
truly come to Him, we see others in a different light-as God sees us, and we are
able to love them, n matter how unlovely they may be. For even as kids we
passed over the dirty bottle for the clean ones, Jesus specializes in the dirty
ones-in fact the worse off the better for Him to show His grace.
Maybe you have come to Christ, but feel dirty. His offer is still valid,
and will help you clean it up. Still doubting? His offer is still good, but
time may be short. For His return is imminent, and then the offer is no longer
valid. Today is the day of salvation, not some future date on the calendar.
Today. Right now. Life is more than a commodity, you are worth more than the
$25 of chemicals in your body. Turn to Jesus and find out how really valuable
you are. A price so high, no dollar figure could touch it, and no one could
afford it. That’s why we have Jesus. So maybe you can help me with this, I
don’t get it. When all the proof is there, when Jesus is real, and can change
lives, why haven’t you let Him change yours? Your choice, a recycled life or a
life recycling. So much for reincarnation-how would you feel going from a BMW
dashboard to plastic furniture? Recycled? You can be made anew in Christ. The
ultimate savior. The one way to heaven, the only way. Turn in your old self
for a real deal today- and never worry about being turned into something you
don’t want to be ever again. Still wondering...I just don’t get it. Glad I did
years ago. Hope you do too.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com