Today I’m thinking about the word “broken.” A couple of weeks ago I attended a women’s event to hear Ann Voskamp speak. She penned the book “One Thousand Gifts” and now she has a new book, “The Broken Way.” She spoke about being broken and I’ve been thinking about that word.
Broken. The church is made up of broken people. Everyone on the planet is broken in some way. Many believe that Christians think that we are perfect in every way, and some people have actually come across like that in their words and actions. But those who know Christ personally understand the truth. We are broken people that allow Christ to step into our brokenness in order to repair it all – step by step, one thing at a time, “from glory to glory.” We have taken His Hand and His Heart, and have willingly run into His Arms. We believe that He came to earth, died for our sins, rose again on the third day, ascended to His Father, and will return in glory to receive those who are His. He came to a broken world to heal broken people. To offer them a bridge over the river of sin so that we can go back to the Throne of God.
The definition of “broken” is “reduced to fragments, ruptured, torn, fractured.”
Imagine a crystal vase. Think expensive, think Waterford. Where would you put a $1200 Waterford vase if you owned one? I don’t know about you, but I would put it in a place where it wouldn’t be touched. Probably in my china cabinet behind the door. Well, that’s where my mother-in-law’s crystal glasses live…so nobody will break them. Maybe you do own such a vase (can I come see it? I do love dishes.) When anyone came anywhere near it, I would do a “fast walk” (not a run, that would look really bad) into the dining room just to make sure that things were fine and that hands weren’t near it. You know what that means? The vase would own me, not the other way around. Sad.
We are God’s loved and adored people, His creation, the ones that when He created us, He said, “This is very good.” (The italics are mine.) He sees us as worth myriads more than a $1200 dollar piece of crystal – there’s no comparison. We’re worth enough to allow His Son to die for us. Every day our Father, Jesus His Son, and The Holy Spirit watch parts of their creation break. “Bull in a china shop” break. We are broken people and that’s why Jesus came. To put us back together.
Bipolar and depressed people are among the broken. We are broken in an unusual way. We break in different shapes and in odd places. To someone it may appear as though we’re broken in a place where a break would not usually occur…an odd configuration. God is an Expert in the repair of brokenness, especially in the odd and unusual places. A professional expert in glass repair knows the proper (and improper) ways to repair glass. There are many methods to do it: grinding and polishing, reshaping the piece, and maybe using certain specialized epoxies. There’s an art to repairing broken crystal and it takes a professional to do it right. Each one of us is broken in a different place and in a different way, and each one of us must be repaired individually. God is the Master Artist and He knows how to repair each one of us properly.
Are you broken today? Allow the Master Artist to put your pieces back together again. He’s right there at your side while you read this. Just ask Him. No fancy words are needed, only your willingness to allow Him into the broken depression or mania. You are not His robot. God has given you free-will and you get to make the choice to let Him into the brokenness.
Please let Him in; His repairs show the work to be even more beautiful than it was before the break. Then when His Light shines on you, the sanded, polished and reshaped places sparkle much brighter, as the magnificent creation that they are!
Scripture to ponder: Daniel 4:34
Your weapon for today: “The LORD is with me; He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.” Psalm 118:7