Echoes of brokenness

1 Corinthians 11:24

And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Are you broken this morning? Downtrodden? Hurting? 

We're all broken creatures. Not one of us have saved ourselves from being broken even just a little. Not any of us have been spared the hurt and pain of being torn and rent. But let me tell you something. Jesus was broken too. Upon a cross on a hillside of Judea he was broken. They scourged him, beat him, broke him. Then they put a crown of thorns on his head, and nailed his hands and his feet to a cross. Jesus was broken, for us. The incredible grace of God embodied in one man who was dying on a tree. His body was broken for our brokenness. His body was broken so that life could pour out. His body broke upon that cross and his blood, which was an atonement of sin, was poured out, not as a reminder of God's grace, nor to affirm the old covenant. But rather as the true embodiment of love poured out from the broken body of a man who lived a purely loving life, and as a new covenant which was the fulfillment of the old and our one pathway into the grace of God. 

John 12:24

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Sometimes for grace and love to truly blossom we must die. Sometimes the lord brings us to a point in our lives where we don't want to go on. Where we just want to give up and say "whatever I don't care anymore." And it is at those point in our lives that we need to remember that the lord is shaping us to be more like him. We are the corn and we must die to bring forth fruit. But He is the one who casts the corn into the field and he knows that the we may face hardships, he knows that it is difficult. But he also knows what's best for you no matter what. He will never give you a hardship that he will not give you the strength to get through. But he does bring you to a point where you lay down your pride and selfishness, a point where you in your own strength can't go on anymore. And it is at those point when we cry out to God for strength that He looks down from heaven upon us who are weak and sinners. He picks us up in his loving caring arms, looks down on us with eyes that radiate love and grace, and he just holds us, for as long as we need to be held. And when he sets us down again we have just enough of his strength to keep going. We are the corn, he casts us into his field. And to bear fruit we must die. But he will water us with his living water, feed us with his bread of life, and his glory will be the only light we need. And he will resurrect us again with the power of his Holy Spirit but as new creations, stronger than ever before in the power of His might. Think about Jesus, he was not only cast into this world by the father as a sacrifice for our sins, but he willingly took our punishment and bore it. He died so that the fulfillment of salvation might come to pass. And through his death we are alive, and yet we are called to "die daily" as Paul says. We are called to daily lay aside our selfish wants and desires to truly pursue him. 

So today if you're feeling broken, downtrodden, or hurting. Remember that our brokenness may be god trying to tear down our outer shells to get to the love and life within, and that sometimes we must die to truly live. Remember that when you feel downtrodden, he is always there to pick you up and others will see his strength through you. Remember when you're hurting, that God's only son bore the weight of all the hurt and desires to bear yours as well.

Hear the echoes of God saying "my child, brokenness doesn't mean you're broken, it means you have come to a point where I can be full through you." 

Psalms 30:2

O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.