New Shoe

Jen has some nice sneakers. Have you ever stepped in a pile of poop? Can you guess where this is going? Jen’s sneakers were still new… that is until she stepped in a fresh steaming pile of dukie while on a walk in the park. The stuff had smashed into the fine lines and gaping treads on the sole, and was sticking onto the webbing on the side of the shoe like plaster to a house. I did not see this happen, but I smelt it! She didn’t have to let us know she was home because there was a green vapor of death preceding her arrival as if to announce to all of us that a surprise awaited. I actually laughed because the stench was so horrid Jen was gagging (yes… that makes me laugh). She kicked off her shoes in the flower bed and motioned for me to throw them away, saying between gags, “They’re too far gone!” That sounded to me like a challenge! So I grabbed an old scrub brush, some soap and the hose. As soon as I picked up that pile of mashed up “dog logs” that use to be a shoe, I realized that Jen may have been right on this one (ok, she’s right most of the time)… the shoe was terrible. But I got to work on it anyway. The strangest thing happened… I started smiling! I enjoyed seeing each chunk of the poodle paddies fall off the shoe.  I was excited to see the blue and white material reappear back to how it was made to be! I found pleasure in clearing out the tread and grooves so they could be used for what they were meant to do. Sure it was a dirty job, but the shoes were new again! I couldn’t wait to show them to Jen to watch her shock and surprise that her sneakers weren’t ruined after all! Then a thought occurred… what if God finds pleasure in taking someone who is “too far gone” and making them new again? Does He find enjoyment when that new person shocks and surprises the people that once before wrote them off? I’m not saying that God enjoyed the pain and suffering His Son had to endure because of our mess… but I do think God enjoys seeing the work Christ does in our lives that makes us new again! No one is too far gone, too hurt, too ill, too addicted, too sad, too angry, too in debt or too lost.

“…if anyone is in Christ, they are a new person, the old has gone…” 2 Corinthians 5:17

God did not want us to be left with the mess we stepped in… He loves us too much for that! He wants us to remember that when we are in Christ, the old life is gone, and we are a new person… a person who resembles the one God made us to be! So the next time you or someone you know steps in a pile of prairie pancakes (actual or metaphorical), remember, with Christ, He is making us new.

Just a thought.

Pete