From Use-Less to Use-Full

Dan Snow says: on this day, 19^th July, 1799, Frenchman Pierre-François Bouchard discovered a four-foot lump of stone with weird markings on it. He dragged it to the city of Rosetta…

The British defeated the French; the ‘Rosetta Stone’ went to London. Displayed at the British Museum since 1802 it’s the most visited object there.

On it is inscribed three versions of a 196 BC decree, two in Ancient Egyptian scripts one in Ancient Greek. It’s enabled the deciphering of previously untranslated hieroglyphic script… Use-less stone? Priceless use-full historical artefact!

Yesterday’s Lowestoft Journal reported on the ‘Lowestoft Repair Café’. It’s a new community venture, manned by twelve volunteers that’s just received a cheque to assist with initial expenses.

On July 10^th customers brought ‘various items including a vacuum cleaner, a teddy bear, a silk kimono and a century-old sewing machine. In total 23 items were fixed, though eight were deemed beyond repair.’

Offering both environmental benefits and financial savings the Repair Café makes the use-less, use-full.

Last night’s news featured a report on Nicholas McCarthy. Born in 1989 without his right hand he was determined to become a concert pianist. Despite many obstacles and active discouragement, he became the only one-handed pianist to graduate from London’s Royal College of Music in its 130-year history.

As one of just a few soloists with a disability, Nicholas champions the left-hand alone repertoire. A man whom many would have seen as a use-less has become one of the world’s most inspirational pianists.

I’m reminded of Philemon… Onesimus, Philemon’s slave, has run away. Onesimus has met Paul in Rome and has become a Christian. Paul sends Onesimus back with a letter asking Philemon to forgive and re-instate him.

The name Onesimus means ‘useful’. Ironically by running away he’d not lived up to his name and had become ‘useless’…

The story illustrates the repeated biblical theme of redemption and restoration… where God takes what is broken, lost, use-less… making it whole, valuable and use-full.