Embracing Brokenness To Bring Healing

We live in a broken world. Does God see all this? Does he care about the injustices done to us? The pain we suffer? God does see and care about the healing of his broken world!

Let me close with thisbeautiful story from the life of Jesus. Early one morning, Jesus went to the Temple. As people gathered around him, he began to teach them. Suddenly, the tranquility was rudely shattered when the religious leaders forcibly dragged before Him a woman caught in adultery. With self-righteous indignation, they stood with stones in their hands ready to stone her! She was a despicable sinner and deserved to die! They demanded that Jesus also should judge and condemn her to death, according to the Law! The trembling woman crouched at His feet, sobbing uncontrollably.

“He does not pick the best-looking parts and reject the most damaged ones. He waits until he is able to embrace all the broken pieces…and then heal them.”

At first, Jesus did not answer. He just stooped down, and with His finger, quietly began to write on the ground, while the religious leaders kept crying out for her death! But as they read what he was writing, slowly the angry voices subsided. The stones slowly dropped from nerveless fingers! And slowly one by one, they slipped away – leaving the woman by herself with Jesus! He asked “Where are your accusers?” And with compassion he told her gently “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

As terrible as the sin of this woman was, she should not have had to stand accused alone, since it takes two people to commit adultery. Where was the man? Why was he not also brought in? The Law specifies that both of them should be stoned. In the eyes of these accusers was it all right to condemn the woman but not the man?

The picture above is similar to what we often see today.

While Jesus wrote on the ground, he chose not to bring up men’s sins in general and not to ask that the male adulterer also be brought in. Neither did he tell the self-righteous accusers that they were as guilty as the woman and the man caught in adultery. He, however, knew this was true, because he was able to read the men’s hearts.

Why did he then keep quiet? It was because he is a reconciler, not a divider. He is an intercessor, not an accuser. He purposely refused to take sides because taking sides is what the devil does. Dividing, is what the devil does! Jesus however, came “to seek and to save that which was lost” And what was lost is not in one piece or in one pile. It is broken and scattered all over the place. He does not pick the best-looking parts and reject the most damaged ones. He waits until he is able to embrace all the broken pieces, take them in his arms, place them close to his heart and then heal them! When we come to him with our pain, he brings together the fragments of our broken lives and makes us whole. He gives us hope and a future – a new beginning and a fresh start.

“Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.”

Juliet Thomas