The Refurbished Life

Every year, millions of devices arrive at Apple's refurbishment centers — phones with shattered screens, laptops that stopped working, tablets returned because something inside went wrong. By every reasonable measure, they are finished. Destined for the scrap heap.

But Apple's Certified Refurbished program does something remarkable. Technicians take each device apart piece by piece. They replace every damaged component. They install a new battery, a new outer shell. Then — and this is the part that gets me — they run even more rigorous testing on refurbished devices than on brand-new ones. When the process is complete, Apple issues a full warranty, identical to what a new device receives. Walk into any store, and you cannot tell the difference between one that just rolled off the assembly line and one that was once broken beyond use.

That is the gospel of redemption.

The Apostle Paul wrote, "If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here" (2 Corinthians 5:17). God does not simply patch us up and send us back out with a disclaimer. He makes us new. He replaces what is shattered. He restores what failed. And then He stamps His warranty on our lives — sealed with the Holy Spirit, guaranteed by the blood of Christ.

You may feel like a broken device today. But in the hands of the Master, broken is never the same as beyond repair.