Broken is an interesting word usually associated with something bad – broken bones, broken dishes, broken promises. But, lately I have been hearing this word used as something much more positive.
The term I have been hearing lately is of broken men which then God can use for His kingdom purposes. We may consider how that once a horse is broken it becomes useful for men as transportation or for work. It doesn’t sound pleasant to be broken and it isn’t usually, but for humans the outcome can be a miraculously changed outlook and life lived for Jesus.
Recently Neil and I were at the funeral of a long-time friend when one of his sons relayed that his dad was broken by the divorce from his mother. This brokenness was a result of our friend realizing that he was not in control of his life, something he previously believed. He was a Christian and had given God control of almost everything but he held his marriage and career back to manage on his own. Obviously this was an unwise decision.
It was too late to restore his marriage but it was at that point of brokenness that our friend finally gave his entire life over to God. He now understood that he was not the captain of his own ship but a soul begging Jesus to be LORD of his entire life.
From the point of his complete submission to Jesus our friend’s life was changed. He grew in his faith. He served God throughout his retirement years. His life was fully lived for God up to the moment God called him home.
One of our pastors has recently been saying the same thing about brokenness – that to be used by God we must first be broken and submitted.
Once we have committed our life to God we cannot live it to God’s expectations without fully yielding every ounce of our heart and soul and allowing God to be about His business in us. When we try to keep some of our spaces to ourselves (career, marriage, children, sports, etc.) we are setting ourselves up for brokenness.
I have read and heard story after story of those who followed Jesus – almost. Remember in the Bible when the rich young ruler asked, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?” After some discourse we find Jesus replying to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
This story isn’t about property or money, it is about what the young ruler treasured most in his heart. He told Jesus he believed and wanted eternal life but, regrettably, his worldly wealth was shone to be more important to him than following Jesus.
Some of God’s sheep go into the fold eagerly. They love and are obedient to Jesus from a young age. Others of us try to straddle the proverbial fence with one foot in worldly pleasures and one foot in the sheep’s pen. As our lives become more discordant we can’t keep up with the jigging of our feet back and forth over the fence. When we ultimately trip, as we must, only then will we finally acknowledge our limitations. That is usually when we breakdown.
That brokenness leads us to knowing that Jesus really is more valuable than life itself. For those of us who have been broken there is no more jigging over the wall – we are now securely in the fold and ecstatically happy to be here.
Christians that have been truly broken and humbled by the Lord are easily recognized. They are the ones that have more mercy to give, they love those that seem unlovable, and they
forgive quickly. Why? Because when we have felt the great mercy of Jesus on our lives and we acknowledge how very unlovable we were and how graciously He forgave our horrible sins we know we must go and do likewise. Living under the mercy-filled hand of Jesus we now want to live as He does full of grace and mercy.
To grow in our Christian walk we should ask God, just as King David did, to search us to see if there is anything in us that is not pleasing to Him. As we do this, let us keep in mind Jesus’ words to his Disciples that, “The greatest among you should be like the least, and the one who leads like the one who serves.” The power and glory of this world is not meant for us – all glory is God’s.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. There is great safety in the Shepherd’s sheep fold – come on in.
ED. NOTE: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writer GoodGod@gmail.com
