One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

It is well known that I'm a collector of

many things.  As a history buff, I like to

delve into the stories told by artifacts.  After

35 years, retirement has finally given me time

to investigate decades old trash heaps deep

in the tangled woods of our own property.

There was once a house even older than ours

back in those woods.  Now gone for decades,

the lives of its occupants are told only through

the piles of refuse they discarded in the days

before landfills.

I've worked through the summer to clear

away rusty cans and metal scraps and 

broken glassware of every description.

In the same way that I've recently blogged

about reminders of God in nature, I've 

likewise found reminders of well-known

scriptures in artifacts from the trash piles.

"... But store up for yourselves treasures

in heaven, where moth and rust do not 

destroy, and where thieves do not break

in and steal.  For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6: 20-21

Here's an old three-sided file I discovered.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one

man sharpens another."

Proverbs 27:17

This old lantern was not ornamental, but

a daily necessity in bygone days.

"You are the light of the world.  A city

on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do 

people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  

Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives

light to everyone in the house.  In the same

way, let your light shine before men, that

they may see your good deeds and praise

your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5: 14-16

One of my favorite treasures is this glass

kerosene lamp, with wick intact, preserved

unbroken. How practical, but inexpensive.

"Be dressed and ready for service and

keep your lamps burning . . . . Because

the Son of Man will come at an hour you

do not expect Him."

Luke 12: 35a, 40b

The lamp also recalls one of my favorite

children's choruses:

"Give me oil in my lamp,

keep me burning,

Give me oil in my lamp, I pray,

Give me oil in my lamp,

keep me burning,

Keep me burning

till the break of day."

Among the volume of broken rubble, I

have salvaged dozens of unbroken jars and

 bottles of all sorts.  They once contained

common items of daily use.

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of

darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts

to give us the light of the knowledge of the

glory of God in the face of Christ."

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to 

show that this all-surpassing power is from 

God and not from us."

2 Corinthians 4: 6-7

This brass door knocker once alerted a

family to guests at their front door.

"Behold! I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the

door, I will come in and eat with him,

and he with me."

Revelation 3: 20

Do you recall the children's song that begins

"Behold, behold, I stand at the door

and knock, knock, knock"?

Such songs are laden with biblical truth.

The last time I used a true "fountain pen,"

the type you had to fill from an ink bottle,

I was in elementary school learning cursive.

My own children and grandchildren never

used one and may have never seen one.

"I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth

disappear, not the smallest letter, not the

least stroke of a pen, will by any means

disappear from the Law until everything

is accomplished."

Matthew 5: 18

This pen from antiquity brings to mind

words from the song "The Love of God."

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

Now you might think I'd be hard pressed
to find a biblical reference to this toy truck cab.

Well, this isn't directly from scripture,

but in the '70's someone added a verse

to "Give Me Oil in My Lamp."

"Give me gas in my Ford,

Keep me truckin' for the Lord."

Yes, reminders of our God and the

Lord Jesus Christ are on every hand

in our world.  Not just through the 

wonders of creation, but even the works

of man's hands are tied to countless 

scriptures, parables, and teachings.

Let me close with one of Paul's benedictions

found in Colossians 3: 15-17.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,

since as members of one body you were called

to peace.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ

dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one

 another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, 

hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your

hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in 

word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through Him."