Do You Feel Like a Broken Shell?

One of the things I really enjoy is spending time at the beach. When my wife and I lived in North Carolina, we went to the beach at regularly. In addition to just sitting under an umbrella and reading, we enjoyed taking long walks, splashing our feet in the water as we walked. On those walks we would take our trusty little blue bucket with the smiley face to hold the shells.

There was no set criteria for the shells we collected; we just knew we “liked” a particular shell when we saw it. We filled our bucket with shells that were pleasing to us, while leaving the broken and shattered pieces lying on the sand.

Today, we have glass container after glass container of shells in our house. When we moved, our kids helped us, and they soon got tired of lifting so many boxes filled with shells.

There is much similarity between those broken shells and how the world views each of us. We all have defects and imperfections, and while the world often picks us up, looks us over, then throws us back on the pile due to our defects and imperfections, God does not “select” us based upon our outward appearance. Unlike the broken shells that we left behind on the beach, God picks us up from the pile of broken shells. While sometimes He glues our broken pieces back together, other times He uses us with our broken pieces. His plan in both cases is to reach the world with His message of redemption and restoration. God sees more than just our broken pieces, more than our flaws, He sees us as He made us. He sees us in His image (see Genesis 1:27).

If you know the story of David in the Old Testament, you know that he was not a likely candidate to be anointed the next king after Saul. David was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons and just a scrawny little kid. God chose Samuel to pick the next king so as Samuel looked over Jesse’s sons, he saw Eliab who was the biggest and strongest, and based upon Eliab’s physical appearance, Samuel figured Eliab was next to be king. But God spoke to Samuel and gave him a new standard by which to pick the next king.

In 1 Samuel 16:7 we read these words – “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’”

What is today’s message? Maybe you feel ignored or overlooked, just like those broken shells that we left lying on the beach. You feel like the kid who never gets picked to be on the kickball team. Or maybe you look back at your life and say to yourself – I have really blown it, I have too many broken pieces and I am beyond repair.

The good news is that God sees perfection in all of us and he does not just collect the unblemished shells, he also collects the ones that others have left lying on the sand. He works in our lives to redeem and restore all that is broken. God picks you up and puts you in His bucket as He walks the beach. He sees past the blemishes, the broken pieces, and the cracks. He sees what could be, not what is!

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