Writing For The Broken

Broken-hearted is a powerful term.  Just google the phrase and you'll see tons of song lyrics about broken-hearted people.  You'll see images that people created to express their broken hearts.  You'll even see sites that promise 15 scientific steps to heal a broken heart.  Wow.






There are so many reasons why brokenness happens: abuse, infidelity, hatred, cyber-bullying, social injustice . . . and the list goes on and on.  But there is one source of brokenness that I keep running across lately in conversations with friends and strangers (soon to be friends) that really troubles me more than any other source.  That source is brokenness as a result of the church in America.  The family of God should never be the cause of broken hearts.


We should be people who restore the broken.  In fact, that's exactly what we are called to do -- be ministers of reconciliation.  Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah 61 in Luke 4. This is Isaiah's passage from which Jesus read: 

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
   because the LORD has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim freedom for the captives
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,  
² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
   and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
 ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
   instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
   instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
   instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   a planting of the LORD
   for the display of his splendor.

This is the Jesus we know.  This is the Jesus we follow.  This is the Jesus who sees broken people and brings the Good News of God's great love to anyone who is willing to open his or her heart to it. I know that as churches and ministers many of us in America have failed on more occasions than we like to admit when it comes to seeing people through the eyes of our Creator.  Justin and I have been working on looking through God's eyes and seeing people with all the potential God created them to have.


I hope that you will take time this week to work on being a person who restores the Broken Ones back to their Creator.  Try to resist the urge to look at others with offense and judgement and try to embrace the opportunity to look at others with compassion and grace.  That's what Jesus does . . . and we should too.