Recycled For Christ, The Birth Of Ministry...

Even those of us who have been Christians for many years, were at one time just as useless as those empty cans. That helped to remind me that God didn't grant me salvation because of any value that I personally had. Paul tells us, in Ephesians 2: 1-10, that we (like those aluminum cans) were all dead (useless) in our trangressions. He goes on to tell us that it is by grace that we are saved and not by any works that we do.

The good news is that God stooped down and picked us up just like I picked up the discarded can. I must confess that, if the can could not be recycled, I probably wouldn't waste my efforts at picking them up.

Those cans are then taken to a recycling center and then shipped to an aluminum plant. The cans are melted down and then poured into a mold to form a new product. It would not make any sense to melt them down if you were not going to form a new product out of them. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul tells us that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" We, like the recycled cans, have a new purpose and no longer live for self but for Christ.

We are told, in 1 Peter 4:10, that our purpose, in being recycled for Christ, is to faithfully administer Gods' grace by serving others. Just as the aluminum can does not say to the furnace "I don't want to be a new can", we should not tell the Lord that we don't want to be a servant.

In James 2:14-25, it is explained that faith without works is dead. That has been a stumbling block for many people when they try to mix works with salvation. The simple fact of the matter is that, if you think of yourself as that discarded can, it is easy to understand that nothing we could do could save us from death. If God had not sent Jesus to pick us up, we would be doomed to death and decay just like the cans. Then, out of gratitude, you will want to serve the Lord.

We were told that our purpose was to faithfully administer Gods' grace (1 Peter 4:10) but what does that look like in the world today? We are shown what that looks like in Matthew 25:31-46. We can see that it is basically just showing love to people whether that is through food, clothing, visiting them, or caring for the sick. That, my friends, is what makes a Christian different and separates the sheep from the goats. We also see, in Matthew 22:34-40, how important Jesus said it was to love your neighbor.

We also have to remember that, if we love someone, then that love will compel us to tell them about our Savior. It is impossible to love someone and not care where they will spend eternity. A part of that telling them, is sharing your testimony and we want to help you to do so. You can check out our testimonies page where you will find examples of both written and video taped testimonies. Then, you can send us your written story of how you were Recycled For Christ on the form or email us a video and we will post them and include them on my-christian-space.com (You can make this your christian space too!).

If you would like to get involved in showing that love to our neighbors (be recycled for Christ), you can check out our Cans For The Captives program. Together, we can put those discarded cans to work for His kingdom.

You can also get involved in our ink jet cartridge and used cell phone recycling. We have teamed up with freerecycling.com to put these items to work for the Kingdom. It is easy to get started by simply clicking on the banner below.