Who among us has never been touched by the sorrows of this imperfect world? Who among us has not engaged the world in battle and come up feeling broken and on the brink of defeat? The mighty prophet, Elijah fought that fight. Bruised and battered, he prayed, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:4). Nearly shattered on the battlefield, righteous Job cried out, “May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’ May that day be darkness; may God above not seek it, nor the light shine upon it.” (Job 3:3-4).
At best, each of us is a broken vessel in need of an artisan’s touch. “The sin which so easily besets us” (Hebrews 12:1) threatens to undo us and render us useless in the Lord’s service. Thanks be unto God that through Jesus Christ, the eternal hand that can bind up the broken and heal the hurting is readily available.
The Lord’s precious invitation is well known to even the most casual Bible reader.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
This grand appeal demonstrates the Lord’s willingness to take in those who will come to Him in search of cleansing and healing. It reminds us of how later the Lord would weep over the sin-filled city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and also say, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).
The Lord knows we are broken. He knows that sin has separated us from Him (Isaiah 59:1,2). He knows that often the troubles of the world chip away at us until we feel we can stand it no more. Like the prodigal’s father who waited for and then welcomed his son’s return (Luke 15:20ff), our Lord opens His mighty arms to take in those who are burdened and oppressed. Paul calls the Lord “the God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3). In Him can be found true peace in a chaotic world that seeks to destroy us (Philippians 4:6-7).
Picture yourself walking into a store that sells fine china. You see shelves and display cases filled with elegant patterns and unique colors. There is so much beauty that you can hardly take it all in. Then you look over toward a dark corner and see a wooden crate. As you walk toward it you notice that it’s filled with cracked, chipped and broken pieces of china. There are dozens of other customers in the store but no one is even looking in that crate. No one wants those items because they consider them unattractive and useless.
In the illustration above, you and I are the marred china. We are the ones who, because of sin, have been rendered unappealing. No one else might want us, but God does. He’ll take us in our unlovely condition and make us whole again through the blood of Christ. He urges us to bring Him our broken lives for repair. After listing some of the sins in which Corinthian Christians had been engaged, Paul said, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11). These people came to the Lord with their sin-burdened souls and became new creatures through the blood of Christ by virtue of their obedience to the Lord’s Gospel (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Dear reader, why live any longer in sin? Why continue to be broken apart by the burdens of living a life away from God? You can find spiritual repair today by believing that Jesus is the Christ (John 8:24), repenting of your sins (Luke 13:3), confessing your faith in Jesus as the Christ (Romans 10:9,10), and being immersed into water for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38). Why not bring Christ your broken life today?!
