Do
you know people who constantly sell themselves short? Those who say they are
not talented when they can do incredible things that others cannot do? Who say
they are not strong when they can easily lift the heaviest boxes in the room?
Who say they are not wise when their words of counsel drip like sweet honey? Everyone
appreciates a reserved and meek disposition. It certainly thrashes an arrogant
and haughty spirit. But there is a difference between humility and humiliation.
Humility is not refusing to acknowledge skill and value. As the great
philosopher (better Baseball player) Dizzy Dean once said, “It ain’t bragging
if you can back it up.” Those may not have been Dizzy’s most dazzling words,
but his point is not far from the truth. It would be like Nick Saban saying he
was not a good college football coach. Seven national championship rings say
otherwise, do they not?
Disciples of Jesus are often guilty
of selling themselves short, too. In Christian circles, devotionals, worship
services, and conversations, it is very common to hear, “We are broken people.”
I completely understand the sentiment behind the words. Christians are not
perfect. Far from it. We make mistakes daily and we say, and we do some
audacious, awful things. But church, we are not broken! Far from it. Through
His blood and the waters of baptism, Christ healed us. We were broken before
we came into a covenant with Jesus—bound by the shackles of our sin. We cried
out for a Savior and Christ filled those divine shoes. He stood in the gap of
our imperfection with His perfection. But once we have crossed over the
threshold into the family of God, our brokenness transforms into holiness by
the grace of God. Therefore, Peter would refer to the persecuted church of his
time as a “…royal priesthood, a holy nation…” (1st Peter 2:9)
Are we still sinful? Oh yeah. Are we still weak? We
cannot lift a spiritual feather. Are we still prone to make mistakes? Who is
not? But we are not broken. Bruised maybe. But not broken. We have been
reconciled, redeemed, and brought near to the very heart of God.
Think about it in terms of an old
car. An old, beat up car still runs. You may have to “jump it off” every few
days. It may not get the best gas mileage. It is probably not shiny or
exciting. But it still runs. It gets you from Point A to Point B. But a broken
car does not move. It does not even start with a jumper box or your neighbor’s
jumper cables. It collects dust and displays rust. You may not enjoy your old
car, but your old car does not belong at the salvage yard. Only broken cars do.
So it is with the people of God. We
may not always be our best. We may require frequent spiritual jumpstarts. We
are not always shiny and exciting. We certainly need to be maintained
extensively. We may not always be proud of the spiritual life we are living.
But we still move. We still serve a purpose. We do not belong at the spiritual
junkyard.
Consider these important,
encouraging Scriptures that speak to this fact:
Paul reminded the church at Corinth
in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11, “Do you not know that the wicked will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolater nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God. AND THAT IS WHAT SOME OF YOU WERE. But you
were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” The Corinthians had a dark and
detailed rap sheet. Even a quick glance of 1st Corinthians speaks of
the Corinthians’ constant issues. At one time, members of their body had been committing
sins and living lives that would keep them from heaven, but that was not who
they were anymore. Paul reminded them that a new identity had taken hold. They
had been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus and the Holy
Spirit. Does that sound like “broken”, defeated people to you? They were
broken, but God loved them too much to let them stay there. The same is
true of you and me.
Or in 2 Corinthians
5:21, Paul spoke of the beautiful prisoner exchange performed by God, through
Jesus. “God made him who had no sin to become sin for us, that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.” If Jesus were willing to take our place and
pay our penalty, would He want us to still diagnose ourselves as “broken”? If
we are still useless after His tremendous gift, the cross did not accomplish
what God wanted it to accomplish. We were broken, but God loved us too much
to let us stay there.
Or even how Paul encouraged the
church at Ephesus in Ephesians 3: 20-21, “Now to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at
work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Inspiring words, but do not miss Paul’s
subtle reminder. The same power that is able to do more than we could possibly
dream of is at work within the lives of God’s people. Does that sound
like a “broken”, crushed assembly of Jesus followers? People who have the
immeasurable power of God living within them? We were broken, but God loved
us too much to let us stay there.
Please do not misunderstand what I
am trying to communicate. No one will be attracted to, encouraged by, or
inspired from Christians who cannot admit fault or discuss their weaknesses and
sins. Even the apostle Paul was quick to acknowledge that he was not only
sinful, but the “chief of all sinners (1st Timothy 1:16). If Paul
met that criterion, I know I certainly do. I cringe when I think about how I have
let the Lord down.
But dear church, even with our novels and volumes of
sins, we are not broken. We are sinners who have been saved. Temples of the
Holy Spirit of God. So, rather than sell short what Christ has made us to be, let
us exalt the name of Jesus, specifically the grace and transformation that only
He provides.
It is one of the great paradoxes of
life. We cannot be saved until we admit we are broken. But once we are saved,
we should not dwell on our brokenness. The world is broken. That is why they
need a Savior and will die without one. But the church—the church is the
radiant bride of Christ. We were broken, but God loved us too much to let us
stay there.
Jacob Hawk
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