Those that know me know what I do for a living. I manage a waste disposal hauling company and a landfill in the Birmingham, Alabama area. I love what I do but there are days that make me a little sad as I see the countless trucks roll in and out of our gate. While I am blessed that we are busy, I often think about the things that people throw away and this is one of those stories about something of value that someone threw away.
A few days back I was walking the working face of our landfill, something I do from time to time, checking to ensure we are getting the proper amounts of dirt to cover the material that comes in during the week. This particular day I was walking along, taking in the blue sky and the crisp spring air that was blowing across the working face, when I looked down and noticed a toy truck. It was tucked away in a clump of mud like someone had placed it there on purpose just so I would find it.
At first I really didn't think too much about it but as I started to walk away I began to feel a little sad thinking about that little toy truck. Odd huh? Not as odd as you might think.
Being the father of sons, I wondered how sad the little boy that lost this truck must be. I can see my own sons playing with the same truck in my back yard or in their bedroom floor or in front of the fireplace in my living room. I can hear the noises that they make as their imagination runs wild with that little toy truck. But a question began to run through my mind, Where is the boy that had this truck in the first place? I thought about the choices that he might have made in his life and how they shaped his future.
That truck was bright blue when it was brand new but now it was slightly bent and the bright blue paint was now faded and discolored. While I had saved it from sure destruction when my dozer operator or our trash compactor ran it over, it still shows signs of wear and tear. But even as worn and bent as it is, it still has value. It had value back when it was brand new and in the hands of the right little boy it would have as much or more value now.
But the more I stared at the little blue truck, the more my thoughts went towards something I remembered reading in my quiet time before work a few days prior. Jesus was teaching about something similar to my thoughts about this little blue truck and He used the following parable to describe His point:
“"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Luke 15:4-7 ESV
If you read the whole of chapter 15 in the Book of Luke, you will notice that Jesus is trying to teach us that when something of value goes missing, even if you have more than one of the same thing, that when one is lost, you go out and look for it and you don't come back until you find it.
How much am I like that little toy landfill truck? I am a little bent, I creak a little when I walk, a little worn around the edges, my scars aren't new, the color isn't as bright in my eyes and my hair isn't as dark as it once was and I have a few more pounds around my waist and deep wrinkles on my forehead from the stress and worries I carry but God doesn't give up looking for me when I am lost. Every single person, at some point, feels alone and forsaken, as if their choices have caused them to be found shoulder deep, flattened into the mud, struggling to get out before the dozer runs them down. God, our difference maker, took it upon Himself to search for, rescue, and completely restore every single one of us when we were lost. And He did it for one very simple yet profound reason:
Every single person has value to the owner of our hearts.
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