The world is broke. Yes, that kind of broke too, but I’m not talking about that kind of broke…I mean like, the world “doesn’t work.” Something is “wrong” with it.
I was walking out of the post office in downtown Phoenix yesterday and I saw this lady walking up to the door. She was straight off of a “meth kills” poster. To say this sounds harsh or cold-hearted, but, honestly, she had the most visually repulsive face I’ve ever seen. She was missing nearly all of her teeth, had scabs covering her face, matted hair, rags for clothes … she looked like she hadn’t showered in months. Without exageration, my stomach turned. I literally had a physical reaction to the way she looked. She probably didn’t have a dime, but…
she didn’t ask me for anything. At that moment, I did the only thing I could think of: I smiled and said “hi, good morning.” She smiled back and looked at me as if to say she was thankful that I acknowledged she was human. I could have done more. I could have prayed with her. I could have hugged her. I think Jesus probably would have. Others no one would touch, Jesus would. I didn’t. I don’t think that makes me a bad person, but I could have hugged her and prayed and maybe provided a little more hope with those simple actions, but…
what I saw clearly in her, I see hidden in me: a tattered, scabbed over, unbathed, repulsive mess of a person. Sure, I’m clean and smell good (most of the time) but, I’m a filthy man living in a broken world. Well, this was true of me, but…
by God’s grace, Jesus made me new. So, now, while my old “flesh” may still bear scars and scabs, Jesus has made my spirit new and He’s working on the rest of me. The Scriptures teach that God wants to remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh. He’s doing that in me. Slowly, I’m seeing this world more for what it is: broke. We will never “fix” this world. We won’t. But, the thing about Jesus is that He calls us to live in this broken world, reflecting the light of Him into it and sharing the hope in Him that overcomes the brokenness of the world. The ironic thing is the more I see just how messed up the world is, the more I love it…no, not “crave to be like it” love it, but “have my heart broken for it” love it. My heart is becoming flesh…and, well, the implications of that are huge and way too much to get into right now, but…
my prayer for you is that you see the complete brokenness of this world…and yourself, without Jesus. People ask me a lot “what does day|twelve need?” We need people who love Jesus because those who love Jesus love people and those that love people will lose themselves for the sake of those they love who are living without hope in a broken world.
Lovely post.
I really appreciate this post. We all have such a long way to go to accurately…clearly…completely reflect the image of God incarnate…Jesus. Like you I welcome the process…but I fear it too at times… because I know it will necessarily take me places and cause me to encounter stuff that in my own nature I would otherwise avoid.
“because I know it will necessarily take me places and cause me to encounter stuff that in my own nature I would otherwise avoid.” …. amen.
Stuart…thanks so much for stopping by the blog and for the comment. We appreciate it.
Lovely post.
“because I know it will necessarily take me places and cause me to encounter stuff that in my own nature I would otherwise avoid.” …. amen.