Devotion

Repurposed
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. --- 2 Corinthians 5:17

There is much to gain in taking things that initially served one purpose and using them to serve another purpose. Not only does it decrease waste, but it also demonstrates how having vision can repurpose and expose a greater value in things. I know of a person who envisioned that he could use an old antique bureau he had placed in storage as a a vanity in his bathroom. The bureau not only fulfilled a need, but it also brought beauty to the room! A woman gifted in doing crafts drove by a pile of blind slats sitting on her neighbor's curb. She gathered those slats and took them into her craft room. The next morning, she hung a three-dimensional piece of wall art in her living room that is stunning! Just as we look at something of old and turn it into something useful and beautiful, God does the very same with us. He repurposes us to align with His vision for our lives and the purpose we serve to His Kingdom! However, in this world a repurposed object is more readily accepted than a person whose life and spirit have been repurposed by God. But we must not be discouraged. Remember that 'the Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart' (1 Samuel 16:7).  
We know that in Christ we are recovered and repurposed from our old selves. We can walk, talk, love, pray, serve, work, and be confidently joyful in the newness of who we are regardless of what the skeptics say about us. Our repurposed lives serve as light along the path to true salvation in Christ. There will always be skeptics, but even skeptics need to be shown the light of Jesus Christ. Therefore, there will always be a need for the new and repurposed spirit that God places within us.