ACCEPTING OUR BROKENNESS - AND LIVING IT
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted" - Psalm 34:18
Jesus was broken on the cross. He endured his suffering and death not as an evil to avoid at all costs but as a mission to embrace. We too are broken. We live with broken bodies, broken hearts, broken minds, or broken spirits. We suffer from broken relationships. Countries suffer from broken relations.
How can we live our brokenness? Jesus invited us to embrace our brokenness as he embraced the cross and live it as part of our mission. He asks us not to reject our brokenness as a curse from God that reminds us of our sinfulness but to accept it and put it under God's blessing for our purification and sanctification. Rather, we are invited to a deeper intimacy with Jesus on the Cross who suffers with and for us. In his wounds, our are healed. Our brokenness can become a gateway to new life.
What helps you accept your condition as sinful and broken -- yet redeemed and called to contribute in your own special way?
adapted from Henri Nouwen