S6 E7 - The Many Adventures of the Lost Elmo

We have a new local celebrity here in Danville: a stuffed Elmo. He had been abandoned in a parking lot by accident, but some local resident has picked him up, cleaned him up, and started posting his great many new adventures. It's so wholesome and so fun. 

Elmo's story is a lot like Israel's story and our story: abandoned, broken, forgotten, and lost. That is until God stepped in and did something. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

 Welcome back to season 6 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. In our next few moments together, we hope to learn some of the most important lessons from some of the simplest things in life. Thank you for taking this journey with me.

If you are a resident of Boyle County or the surrounding area, then there is a good chance that you are a member of a page called “What’s Happening Boyle County.” It’s a Facebook group where people can share current events, local news, and look after one another as small towns generally do for one another. Of course, there is the dreaded “how are the roads?” posts every five minutes during the winter storms, but I’m fairly certain that is a common theme just about everywhere. However, over this past week, there has been a comedic shift in some of the posts on the page, and it’s something that I simply had to share. 

On Tuesday of this past week, someone posted a picture of a stuffed Elmo doll in the parking lot off the local bypass where TJ Max & Hobby Lobby are located. Apparently, some child had dropped this well-loved toy out of their car, and a local resident took a picture and posted it to try and return it to whomever it may have belonged to. The poor Elmo was pitiful – he was abandoned on top of a melting snow pile, filthy, and had clearly seen better days. So, they propped him up on the base of a parking lot light fixture in the hopes that someone would come and get him. Well, someone did come and get him, and they have been keeping the rest of Danville and the surrounding areas notified of his adventures on the What’s Happening Boyle County page.

First, they posted a picture of Elmo in the car “on the way to a bath”. Next was a picture of the stuffed Elmo in a bath with cucumbers over his eyes like a spa day – which so far has been my personal favorite. He was then seen peering out of a dryer in much better condition – he certainly cleaned up nice! Whoever snagged this little stuffed toy has a great sense of humor, because the posts have not stopped there. What has followed has been a fun series of pictures logging the many adventures of the lost Elmo. We’ve been updated about all his whereabouts and dealings. Elmo has watched some TV and made “friends” with other stuffies. He went on a car ride to go pick up dog treats and pay a visit to some puppies himself. And better yet, an entire page is being created for the sole purpose of updating Danville citizens on the continued future adventures of the lost Elmo! He’s become somewhat of a local celebrity, as other Danville residents have taken pictures of Elmo and posted them after having seen him around town. The whole ordeal is so wholesome and so fun. I have found this comical series of posts both hilarious and refreshing, and it is a welcomed change from the 500 different people all posting the same question every day, “how are the roads?”

Would you know it, but this comedic series of events is actually not that different from a not so comedic story: Israel’s story and our story. Let’s examine how together. 

We read in Ezekiel 16:1-5 the difficult origin of the people of Israel, and condition in which the Lord found them spiritually. It reads, “The word of the LORD came to me again: “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices. You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hethite. As for your birth, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut on the day you were born, and you weren’t washed clean with water. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one cared enough about you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. But you were thrown out into the open field because you were despised on the day you were born.”

Israel, before they were even a people, stood condemned in their sin on account of their detestable practices. The condition they found themselves in was that of not an abandoned toy but likened to an abandoned newborn child – left to die on the street and wallowing in its own blood. Many passed by and did nothing, had no compassion, and despised them. Unloved, unwanted, and lost. This was the state of God’s people before they were even a people. That is until the Lord stepped in. Continue in the text in vv. 6-7, “I passed by you and saw you thrashing around in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live!” Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live!” I made you thrive like plants of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful.” 

God had different plans for Israel. He loved them. He cleaned them up and gave them a purpose, a covenant, and a calling! They who were once not a people became God’s people – a kingdom of priests and a holy nation! The Lord propped up the children of Israel for the rest of the world to see and stand in awe of what God had done through his people (see Deut. 28:9-10). And while the rest of this passage in Ezekiel unfortunately details how Israel rejected God even after the outpouring of his love, the lesson of God’s love and rehabilitation of his people remains the same. God can take broken and abandoned things that are lost and unable to save themselves and bring them back to life. He did it with Israel. He can do it with us. 

In this way, Israel’s story is also our story. We read in Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.”

Like Israel, on account of our sin, we all found ourselves in the same condition: alone, hopeless and helpless. Like a newborn infant wallowing in our own blood, there was absolutely nothing that we could do to save ourselves by our own power. We were spiritually lost, abandoned, forgotten, and without any hope. But the text does not stop here. We continue reading in vv. 4, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

My friends, God had different plans for us too. To all who are willing to come to him in faith in response to his great love he so willingly extends, he is willing and able to cleanse us, give us purpose, give us a covenant and give us a calling! We who were once not a people have become God’s people! The prayer is that we are not found faithless like ancient Israel was; that we do not return all of the love and grace that God has extended towards us with rebellion. Instead, there are a many great adventures of those who were once lost but are now found that are yet to be had. We’ve been called to good works, to walk worthy of our calling, and to walk in love. We’ve been called to declare God’s manifold wisdom to even the heavenly places! Maybe recently you’ve felt a little bit like Elmo: beat up, abandoned, filthy and forgotten. Come to Jesus, who takes broken and abandoned people that are lost and unable to save themselves and brings them back to life.

This has been season 6 episode 7 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast – and I’m so thankful that we had this time to grow together! A new episode is dropped each Friday of the week. If you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, give us a good rating, and tune in next week. Even more important, share the spiritual truths that we learned today with someone else. And more than anything my friends, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.