Tony Elder, Author/Pastor

“It isn’t salvageable.” That was the verdict being handed down to me from my dentist about a cracked tooth. What had started out as a broken crown turned out to be a broken tooth. And it wasn’t a minor fracture which could be repaired. The crack was so severe and deep that the tooth could not be saved. I was subsequently sentenced to going to see an oral surgeon to schedule having an extraction procedure.

My dentist was right in his assessment of my tooth. It wasn’t salvageable. However, let’s be careful about the tendency to judge the souls of others, or even ourselves, as not being salvageable. One of the definitions of that word is “capable of being saved, rescued, or recovered from ruin, damage or destruction; it describes items, situations, or relationships that are still worth keeping, repairing, or restoring rather than discarding.” Who are we to pass judgment that someone is beyond the reach of a loving God and a great Savior? Certainly the salvation Jesus came to provide is available to everyone. No one is excluded. “Whosoever” may come to the Lord, put their trust in Him, and receive the gift of eternal life. The Bible does indicate that it is possible for someone so to harden his heart that he can’t be saved. Because of this person’s steadfast unwillingness, he can’t be brought to the point of repentance. However, we aren’t the ones to conclude when someone has degenerated to that point. We should always consider each person as salvageable.

The problem is that often we make quick assessments of individuals not based on the condition of their hearts but focused on more superficial factors, such as their appearance, their posts on social media, or a few random actions on their part which we witnessed. In some cases, we may overlook this person as being someone to share the gospel with, assuming that he or she would not be open to the message. We may even avoid the person due to our own apprehensions about being around the type of person we have concluded this individual must be. We don’t try to get to know the person, to see beyond those superficial factors, and to give him an opportunity to connect with us and eventually to connect with our Savior.

Broken people aren’t necessarily unable to be salvaged. We have all been broken because of sin. Some of us may have thought we had done such terrible things that we could never be forgiven. And yet Jesus salvaged us. Likewise, we are going to meet others who are still broken. However, let’s not quickly discard certain ones as incapable of being repaired. Not all cracked teeth are destined to be pulled. And not all broken people are irredeemable. All of us need to come to the point of realizing our brokenness before we seek the remedy in Jesus. And maybe some of those individuals we encounter who appear to be so broken are actually more aware of their need than others who seem to have it all together. That person who is so broken may be closer to and more ready to enter God’s kingdom than the moral person who isn’t aware of his or her need.

That previously-referenced definition of salvageable applies the concept to things that are still worth keeping. Some items may break and we readily discard them even if they could be fixed because we don’t consider them worthwhile to hang onto. Let’s remember that every human soul is valuable to God. Every broken person is worth keeping. Therefore let’s not give up on others or ourselves. Let’s see us all as being salvageable through the power of our Redeemer.