Yard Sale Anyone?

Sitting on my front porch watching folks attend neighborhood yard sales is always entertaining. They rush into the area desperate to find a parking spot on the local street. They quickly make their way to the site hoping to find that “special deal”. It makes me smile to see them return to their cars with that satisfied look of accomplishment. They are holding a new “treasure”. They are so pleased with the acquisition. Then they are on to the next sale. And it starts all over again. I have only experienced the yard sale from the selling end. I am just as pleased to sell my stuff as those buyers are to make the deal. All this reminds me that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. It’s all about perspective.


Jesus didn’t show much interest in collecting stuff. He collected people. He still collects people. In fact, He seems to show a particular interest in collecting the treasures that society treats as junk. I’m thinking of the poor, the addicted and the lost. The people who society is often ready to throw away are the people that Jesus deeply loves:

“..Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 7Just 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 15:6-7)

If the church of Jesus Christ exercised the same energy and passion toward saving the lost that we put toward the Saturday morning yard sale (6am start time..really?), the “junk” of our society would become the treasures of the Kingdom.

This morning I walked around my neighborhood listening to praise music for about a mile and a half. This is certainly nothing to brag about, yet six weeks ago I could not stand without help. Walking a few feet with aid completely exhausted me. After some time in the hospital and gallons (it seems like it!) of antibiotics, I am on the mend. While in the hospital, some friends and family jokingly called me Lazarus as I began to heal. I’m sure I looked like a man who was dead for several days trying to walk again. But the comparison drew a deeper meaning for me.


Lazarus was raised from the dead by the call of Jesus to the Father (John 11:31.) The Lord was moved with compassion by the weeping of the people (vs 35), yet we know that the intention of Jesus was to show the glory of God by resurrecting Lazarus even before he made the journey (John 11:11). The sovereign plan of the Father was carried out at the same time Jesus was emotionally moved by the cries of the people.

What does Lazarus have to do with me? Well, I was overwhelmed this morning with the realization of how many Saints were praying for my healing. While the illness and recovery have been a sovereign move of the Lord, I am convinced that the prayers of the Saints had influence on the Lord’s work in my life. I can’t explain how all that works together, but I believe the words of E.M. Bounds when he wrote,

” If we believe God’s Word, we are bound to believe that prayer affects God and affects Him mightily; that prayer avails, and that prayer avails mightily “
(Wonders of God Through Prayer, Pg 207)

Thank God for His compassion that even in the midst of His sovereign plan, He hears the prayers of his people (James 5:16). Thanks also for caring Saints who cry out on behalf of others.