Redeemed, Restored, And Repurposed
Insights From Vacation Bible School
The Great Exchange
“Ryan, where’d you get all that money?” Buck asked, eyes wide.
Ryan grinned and jingled a handful of coins—more than three dollars’ worth.
For a bunch of VBS kids, that was serious cash.
He explained proudly, “I’ve been going around collecting old Coke bottles.
I clean them up and take them to Tapp’s Grocery. Mr. Tapp gives me nickels for each one.”
Then Ryan said something that stopped us in our tracks.
“Mr. Tapp told me it doesn’t matter if they’re clean or not—the bottling company will clean and refill them anyway. They’re all worth the same.”
Whether clean or not… all are worth the same.
Out of the mouth of a child came a gospel sermon.
Redeemed And Restored For His Purpose
That story has stuck with me all these years.
I used to think I had to clean myself up before God would accept me.
Say the right things. Fix my faults. Hide my stains.
But that’s not redemption—that’s religion.
Redemption says, “Bring Me your dirt; I’ll make it new.”
We are all bottles—some cracked, some cloudy, some nearly empty. But our value isn’t in the shine; it’s in the stamp.
The Maker’s mark on every soul says, “Mine.”
And when we’re returned to Him, He doesn’t just scrub us up—He fills us again.
The Gospel in a Bottle
That’s what Jesus did at the Cross.
He exchanged His life for ours, taking the unclean and returning it filled, pure, and purposeful.
In God’s redemption plan, even the muddy bottles still get redeemed.
No one is too dirty. No one too dented. No one too far gone.
Whether you’ve spent your life in a pew or a ditch, the same grace applies:
You’re worth the same.
Reflection
Where have you been trying to “clean yourself up” before coming to God?
What would it look like to bring your whole, unwashed self to His grace today?
How might your story change if you believed you were already worth redeeming?
Prayer