I have come to the conclusion that Thursday blog posts are going to be the most fun to write. We have our main student ministry service on Wednesday nights, and it provides an opportunity for me to see Him move in mighty ways.
Today's Topic: Brokenness. When I think about brokenness a recent song by Steve Fee pops into mind. It is called "Lift High" and the lyrics are:
Broken people call His name
Helpless children praise the King
Nothing brings Him greater fame
When broken people call His name
Lift high, your chains undone
All rise, exalt the Son
Jesus Christ, the Holy One
We lift our eyes to You
Sinners all exalt the Son
Your ransom paid and freedom won
We will see His Kingdom Come
When sinners all exalt the Son
When we understand brokenness, we understand the nature of God. God by nature is a redeemer. One of the definitions of the word redeem is to set free. God desires to set us free. The problem that inevitably comes is that we don't believe we are held captive. For the unchristian person, that captivity is the shackles of sin. If they drug around their chains like Jacob Marley, it would be bad enough. The problem though is that they, by their very nature, are the chain. We cannot escape from ourself, and ourself is the problem.
The only way to be set free is to break the chain. God, being the redeemer, alone has the power to break a person's chain, without breaking the person. I am reminded of Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" comedy. In it a loan shark makes a deal with the friend of a love-struck young lad. The agreement is money for a pound of flesh if the loan is not repaid. Drama, drama, drama, the loan is not repaid. When the repayment falls through, the loan shark demands that he receive his pound of flesh. A magistrate steps in and declares that he can take the pound of flesh that rightfully belongs to him, but he cannot have even one drop of blood, as it was not part of the deal. The loan shark knowing that when you are cut you bleed, had no choice but to allow the man to be set free.
God in His wisdom know exactly how much force it takes to break a chain without breaking the person. It is only with His skilled hands that this is possible. We can hack and slash at the chains that bind all day long and we will never be able to apply the force necessary to break them. The only force strong enough to break our chains is the only force strong enough to break the seal that John was talking about in the book of Revelation. That force is Jesus Christ. I saw a young lady come face to face for the first time with that force last night. She has been struggling through life bound and not knowing why. Jesus broke bindings and set her free. She was broken and then subsequently fixed last night. Nothing brings Him greater fame, then broken people who call His name!
God is good!
Trevor
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