Redeemer

     As I was listening to the radio this morning, the song "Jesus Messiah" was playing.  It struck me in part because our worship band had just played it at the coffeehouse that our church hosts.  The line that had me thinking was from the chorus, "Blessed Redeemer, Emanuel."
     It took me back to my childhood.  When I was a kid, you were able to make a little extra money by looking for empty soda bottles.  If you found ones that were not broken, you could return them to the store.  The store would "redeem" it and give you ten cents in return.  Eventually, the bottle would end up back at the bottling plant, cleaned and ready to be refilled.  At this point, the previously worthless bottle had value again.  It went back to the store and was ready to be sold again.
     Before they gave us any money though, they were careful to inspect the bottles.  It couldn't have any chips or cracks.  If it was not in good shape, they would not accept it.  I was always very careful not to even pick up ones that looked cracked.  Cracked bottles broke easy and could cut you.
     The bottle, by itself, never really had value.  Its only true value was based on what filled it.  We are a lot like that bottle.  Life in this world has a way of emptying us.  Even worse, it tends to break us.  Like the broken bottle, the world has little or no use for broken people.  And like a broken bottle, a broken person can sometimes hurt others.
     Fortunately, Jesus does not look at us that way.  No one is too dirty or broken for Him.  If we acknowledge our need for Him, He enters into our life, no matter our state.  He works to clean us up, and repairs our broken places.  He fills us up with His Spirit.  He gives us value.
     Unlike the bottle, to Jesus, our value preceded our filling.  Our value is founded in that He made us.  He loves us.  When we really understand the truth of that, we will begin to see others differently.  We won't see them as their dirt or cracks.  We will see someone that was made in God's image, someone He loves and wants to redeem.  We will desire to be a part of God's work.  We can't redeem others ourselves, but we can love them and introduce them to the one who can.