Devotional/Discussion Thought of the day:

I write a lot about broken people – and even about broken churches.  One of the reasons is there seems to be an endless supply of them.  And every time I think I am completely healed, or those I minister to are, life comes along and seems to break us again.  It really doesn’t, but boy does the agony, and the pain, feel like we are broken again.

St. Paul reminds us what it is like to be broken, even as he reminds us of our being made whole….

³ There was a time when we too were ignorant, disobedient and misled and enslaved by different passions and dissipations; we lived then in wickedness and malice, hating each other and hateful ourselves. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour for humanity were revealed, ⁵ it was not because of any upright actions we had done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own faithful love that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit ⁶ which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our Saviour; ⁷ so that, justified by his grace, we should become heirs in hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is doctrine that you can rely on. I want you to be quite uncompromising in teaching all this, so that those who now believe in God may keep their minds constantly occupied in doing good works. All this is good, and useful for everybody.
Titus 3:3-8 (NJB)

Obviously the way we were, – very broken- you can’t but read that and realize that Paul is describing people traumatized and torn by sin.  As much their own sin ( which we don’t like to face at all ) and the sins of those around us, and even the sins of those who went before us.   To be blunt – life being broken sucks!

Yet, God doesn’t – He won’t leave us there.  I absolutely love the description of baptism in this and those two words:

Rebirth – being born again of water and of spirit – taking what is dead, and giving it new life.

Renewal/Restoraton – to make brand new!  (and it seems like He has to do this daily – sometimes hourly)

It changes everything – our brokenness – no longer is there – though it may appear that way, though it may cause us to struggle,.  That is why Paul urges us to keep teaching this – without any compromise – because our hearts need to trust in God’s doing this, more than in the circumstances in which we find ourselves!  We are healed – by His stripes ( see Isaiah 53)  God hasn’t abandoned us, He has rescued us and we can and do praise Him as the One in Psalm 22 does, as we realize we are not abandoned –  we are His!

Living in view of that is different than living broken as well…. for our thoughts become less and less about ourselves – and more about others who are broken.  We begin to do good works because He is working in us.  This is a promise long awaiting prior to Christ – God’s great plan – which so many testitfied to – but one of my favorite promises of it is found in Ezekiel:

^36:25 I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your filth and of all your foul idols. ²⁶ I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. ²⁷ I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws, and respect and practise my judgements.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 (NJB)

God has done amazing things to those He has cleansed – as He fulfills a promise to take our weary broken, anxiety laden hearts, and transforms them into His own image….

As we cry, “Lord, Have Mercy” may we trust that He has done what He said He would do!  AMEN!