Cracked and Owned

Photo by Ali Abdul Rahman on Unsplash

I was driving down a street in my neighborhood and passed by what looked like a smartphone case lying in the road.  I turned the car around and went back to investigate and it was a full size smartphone, face down and screen shattered.  I pushed the power button and the screen lit up!  I had discovered a lost phone.

I pulled my car into a side street to figure out what to do.  The phone was not locked so I was able to call up some phone numbers and I sent a text to one called "Office Phone".

I figured that the owner would soon realize it was missing and check for messages.  The text read "I found your phone."  That's it!  I decided to wait till I got home to do anything else.  It wasn't but a few minutes before the phone rang!

Me:  Hello, I found your phone on the road.

Male Voice:  Where did I lose it?

(I told him)

Male voice:  Oh man!  I am on my way.

Me:  Sure, I'll wait.  Sorry, but the screen is really busted.  It landed face down.

Male Voice:  OK!

A few minutes later, the man pulled beside me and I gave him the phone back.  He was really thankful, we shook hands and said goodbye.

It felt really good to be able to help someone that day but it also got me thinking about something else.

Even though the phone glass was smashed and ugly, he was really glad to have it back.  The phone meant something to him, it was part of his life.  There were plans to be made on it and memories to share with it.

Isn't that like our lives?  We can get lost and broken to.  Through a series of unfortunate events, we can find ourselves laying in the middle of the road of life, getting run over and at the mercy of the elements.  Helpless.  Our purpose and future are in doubt.  We could find ourselves in the hands of someone with less than honorable intentions for us!  We're ugly because of the trauma we've gone through.

This is where Jesus finds us.  He says, "I can get you back to your owner."

We say, but I'm broken, damaged, ugly.

He says, "Let's take what's left and build the future.  Let's look back at your memories, even through a shattered screen, we'll do it together!"

It's one thing to be broken, another to be broken and back in the hands of your Owner.

God can take what's been cracked and abused and make something beautiful.

Luke 15:11-32