On January 25, 2021, the UPI reported the story of a lost wedding ring which was restored to its owner. The owner, Dr. Andrew Wu, is a surgeon at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, NH. He lost it back in December 2020 and wrote it off as gone forever.
This is the happy conclusion of a story which began to be reported a few weeks ago by WMUR-TV. The Manchester station put out a call at the behest of a company which found the ring. It worked. Dr. Wu was reunited with his wedding ring.
When interviewed, however, Dr. Wu explained that his kids told him, “I’m not touching that ring. It’s been in the filthiest places.” Why their revulsion toward the good doctor’s ring? It’s because the ring was recovered by Rowell’s Services – a septic tank service. Rowell’s Services spokesperson, Mandie Hagan, said that they found the ring while deep-cleaning one of their trucks. Initially, Mandie believed the ring has been in the truck for years. She explained that the truck had serviced hundreds of homes across a fifty-mile stretch.
I know what you’re thinking. “If that were my ring I’d tell Rowell’s Services to ‘Keep it’. I wouldn’t touch that thing either – that’s been buried in the filth of hundreds of septic tanks.”
Yet Dr. Wu, who probably has a good idea of all the deadly microbes infesting a septic tank, welcomed the ring back. He even offered to pay Rowell’s for it. Why? It’s the ring his wife placed on his finger at their wedding and has remained on his hand for their thirteen years of marriage. There’s a ton of sentiment wrapped up in that ring. It represents the love and commitment of Dr. and Mrs. Wu to each other. It’s a reminder of their happiest moments.
Plus, Dr. Wu knows that the ring’s defilement was only superficial. For the ring is made of one of earth’s most precious metals – gold. Gold is one of the noblest—that is, least chemically reactive—of the transition elements. And while its surface will absorb light, it will not absorb the contaminants of a septic tank. Gold is nearly indestructible. The corroding effects of oxygen have no power over it. And fire only purges and refines it.
For similar reasons God will never discard His children when they fall into sin, even the most perverse. Once the human soul has been redeemed by grace and born again by the Spirit and word of God, its substance becomes priceless. And the more it is tested and tried by adversity and persecution, the more refined and pure it becomes (Job 23:10; Malachi 3:3; 1 Peter 1:7).
God has invested His love – no, He’s poured out His love into us (Romans 5:5). He demonstrated this when He delivered up His Son to die in our place upon the cross (Romans 5:6-8). In light of this, is it likely that God’s going to give up the good work He began in us? No. He’s determined to perfect us until the day of Jesus Christ. We may only see the defilement of our sin. But God sees the worth of our gold and He is able to cleanse every stain.
And think of all God’s precious thoughts and memories that are wrapped up in us. David said that God’s thoughts of us outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:18-19). We were in God’s thoughts before creation. And through all those years preceding us, God continued to think of us and joyfully anticipate our coming to this planet.
He chose the place and time of our appearance here and celebrated when we finally became reality. But God – and all heaven – really celebrated when we reached out to Him in faith and trusted in His Son to save us (Luke 15:7).
And as Mary treasured all the moments of Jesus’ life (Luke 2:19, 51), God has treasured all the events of our lives and delighted in all our growth and progress. He’s seen us in our struggles and His heart has gone out to us repeatedly as we’ve suffered. He’s watched us as we faithfully shoulder the dreary responsibilities of life and become more and more like Jesus in the process.
Therefore, the Christian believer should never despair if all he or she can see is brokenness and defilement. Like the marred pot in Jeremiah’s vision, we are still in the hand of the Potter and He will reshape us according to His will (Jeremiah 18:1-6). God, who began a good work in us will perfect it until the Day Jesus returns (Philippians 1:6).
PRAYER: Dear Father in heaven, open my eyes to Your infinite love for me, lest I despair in my failures and stumbling. Teach me, O Father to rest in Your unfailing love and mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Information from: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/01/25/Wedding-ring-found-in-septic-truck-returned-to-owner/1341611603431/; https://www.wmur.com/article/wedding-ring-found-in-septic-truck-in-concord-company-searching-for-owner/35173353#; https://www.britannica.com/science/gold-chemical-element)
