From Rahab to Rehab
Hebrews 11:31

I was just finishing up a devotional about Rahab when I hit the spellcheck function on my word processor. As usual, it tried to spit out the Bible words. But I did a double-take when it got to Rahab. The word it chose as a replacement was . . . rehab.

Interesting the theology you discover in unusual places. Rahab's life is an example of a rehab. How is it that this one seemingly worthless life was spared in Jericho and not the poets or the CEOs or the athletes? Why the prostitute?

Its simple. Rahab turned in faith to God. You see the gospel is about rehabs. Reclamation projects. Failures. Bust-outs. Most people think Christianity is about being good, religious, and hitting all the checkpoints of what is considered the good life.

But Jesus offered something different. He said he didn't come for those who thought they were good, but those who know they are bad. He came for the Rahabs of the world, who carry a label they can't shake. She was a prostitute, but Jesus also came for tax cheats, murderers, and liars.

What's cool is that God wants to take us as Rahabs and do a rehab work in us. Did you know that this former prostitute married a Jewish man and eventually became a great-grandmother of King David and an ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus Christ?

So it is with me and with you. We come to God with a nasty label and God offers to transform us and put our life in a place we'd never thought we'd be.

Maybe you see yourself today as a Rahab, a dirty sinner outside of God's family and with little hope for redemption. But when you turn to Jesus in faith, God sees you differently.

He sees you as a rehab, a beautiful, glorious, rehab.

Daniel Darling is an author and pastor with a passion for young people. He is the author of Teen People of the Bible, a 100-day devotional for teens. Visit him on Facebook by clicking here, follow on him on Twitter at twitter.com/dandarling, or check out his website: danieldarling.com.