The Devil’s Castaways

George Whitefield, an 18th century Anglican minister and preacher, referred to the worst of sinners who came to believe in Christ as ‘the Devil’s Castaways.’ Yes, Whitefield gave that title to the worst of sinners… those whom the moral and ethical… religious and self-righteous crowd would say were men and women beyond redemption. Upon reading that, I wondered why the Devil would cast them off. Were they truly cast off? We know the Devil – as the strongman of his house – kept his goods at peace, meaning that he helped the wicked satisfy their worldly appetites.

Yes, but my question is, ‘Who, then, would be those cast away?’ Could the Devil himself have seen these sad creatures – the worst of sinners – who were ‘cast away’ as those who did not need any attention to ‘keep them at peace?’ They were so without hope that even in Satan’s view – God would not want them?  Needless to say, if so, Satan did not have to pay attention to them; no, no… not as he had to attend to those self-made and righteous people… men and women who thought themselves sufficiently ‘moral… ethical’. Yes, they needed the Devil’s assurance, especially when struck with a pang of guilt… shame… or bewilderment when they heard the Gospel.  

No, the Devil’s ‘Castaways’ were those that Satan thought God would never desire, let alone die for. The ‘Castaways’ themselves? They thought themselves lost… hungry… poor… sick… bereft of any sense of personal worth whether on earth or in heaven, but yet, they were the ones most apt to cry out when they heard the voice of Jesus saying “Come to Me all who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Yes, those ‘Castaways’ were the first to cry out, ‘Father, forgive me… I am a sinner!’