Last week hubby had an evening work event. The venue where the event was held was high atop one of the local hills around here – Cougar Mountain – where there is a swanky golf course and high-end restaurant, with jaw-dropping views that are unreal!
It was nighttime so hubby couldn’t really see much of anything, other than the twinkling lights of Bellevue, far below … and the twinkling lights of the I-90 and 520 bridges crossing Lake Washington … and the twinkling lights of downtown Seattle far off in the distance … and the flashing lights of airplanes as they were lined up in queue coming in to land at SeaTac.
Hubby’s work buddies all knew the place and had been there multiple times before. For all the years hubby and I have lived in Seattle we had never heard of the place before.
Hubby’s work buddies were telling him that this particular piece of land used to be a garbage dump back years ago. Literally there was nothing on the top of that hill other than garbage piled up.
Then one day an independently wealthy man decided to purchase the entire top of the hill … and he developed it into a swanky high-end golf course.
The place which was once a garbage dump is now a place of incredible beauty … and a place of high value!
Intrigued to see the views during the daytime, hubby and I drove up to the top of Cougar Mountain this past weekend.
Is this not stunning! Over on the far right you can just see Bellevue peeking out from around the hill. Then in the center is Lake Washington, with the I-90 and 520 bridges. Then on over to the left is downtown Seattle … with a backdrop of the Olympic Mountains.
Here is the view panning over to the left, to give you the full scope of the Olympic Mountains. In between downtown Seattle and the Olympic Mountains is the Puget Sound.
Here is Lake Washington … with the I-90 bridge being the nearest, and the 520 bridge at the further end of the view.
Here is a close-up of downtown Seattle.
This is the “acropolis” (of sorts) for my city. I have been doing blog posts recently about the Acropolis in Athens and the acropolis in Corinth (known as the Acrocorinth).
This “acropolis” overlooking my city used to be a garbage dump … but now has been redeemed into something incredibly beautiful! And valuable!
I couldn’t help but think of the city of Corinth. The acropolis of Corinth (the Acrocorinth) was a place of moral & sexual garbage. High atop the Acrocorinth was the Temple of Aphrodite (goddess of love and beauty) … where hundreds of priestess prostitutes led worshipers in worship.
Paul came to the city of Corinth where he worked and lived for a year and a half. His writings give us a description of what the people of Corinth were like …
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
From a place of garbage, redemption happened!
The people of Corinth were living lives of moral filth … and God chose to “purchase” them and redeem them!
“You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 1:18-19
This is what the good news of Jesus Christ is all about! Jesus left heaven and came to earth where he lived the perfect life that we should have lived. He died the death that we deserve, to pay the penalty of our sin to God.
Jesus’s death was the payment to purchase us out of sin … just like the wealthy investor purchased the garbage dump high atop the “acropolis” of my own city.
All we have to do is accept Jesus’s payment on our behalf, believing that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. When we give our sin and our “garbage” to Jesus, he will redeem us and make us completely new!
This is what he did for the people of Corinth! And this is what he is still doing for people today!
Just like the “acropolis” in my own city … instead of our lives being a garbage dump, Jesus makes us completely new and turns our life into a place of incredible beauty! And value!
If you feel like you have done too much for God to love you, this is not true. If you feel like you have done too many bad things for God to love you, this is not true.
Jesus has paid the price to purchase you out of the garbage dump of your life … and to redeem you, and make something beautiful of your life!
