Master of redemption

Everyone who was in distress… gathered to [David]. So he became captain over them. – 1 Samuel 22:2

As I glanced through the mail, some words on a card from a charitable organization caught my eye. We Need Your Discards! The meaning was straightforward and simple: Whatever you don’t want, we’ll take. Those household items you call rubbish, rejects, throwaways, and junk, we’ll use to help people in need.

While thinking abut such a collection of castoffs, I recalled something I had read in the book of 1 Samuel. A company of desperate men gathered around an uncrowned king who was running for his life. The 400 men who joined David at the cave of Adullam were in distress, in debt, and discontented. Each one faced difficulty and discouragement. "So [David] became captain over them" (1 Samuel 22).

In many ways, Christians are a collection of desperate people who have answered the invitation of Jesus: "Come to Me" (Matthew 11:28). By faith, we acknowledge Christ as our Captain, Savior, Leader, and Lord. We come as we are so that we can become what He wants us to be.

If you feel like a moral or spiritual discard, come to Jesus. Loners and losers are welcome at the door. The crucified and risen Christ is the master of redemption for all who turn to Him. – David McCasland

Christ asks thee for nothing –

Come just as thou art;

Come sinful, come guilty,

Come give Him thy heart. – Anon.

READ: 1 Samuel 21:10-22:2

Jesus came to save the lost, the last, and the least.