Have you ever broken a piece of much-loved china or porcelain and tried unsuccessfully to reassemble it and glue it back together? Many years ago, I was returning from one of my visits to Ghana with a gift: a large, pottery plate, decorated with colourful Ghanaian artistry and my name and date. After landing at Birmingham airport, I watched baggage handlers throw my bag around: I feared for the contents.
After carefully unpacking my shattered plate I tried reconstruction, with no success. Fortunately, I had a friend who was expert in such matters and he painstakingly and delicately glued the pieces back in their correct places, wonderfully restoring the original so it was impossible to see the repairs.
Looking around the world today, we see clearly the disasters, problems, suffering and brokenness which afflict and fracture lives in every nation and people. But we should not be surprised, for these are the consequences when we ignore and disobey our loving God and Creator, Who has shown us how to live. The Lord tells us very clearly, that the causes of all the brokenness in the world today is man’s sin:
“those who oppose the Lord will be shattered” ~ “they will be dashed to pieces like pottery.”
Today, our politicians, scientists, academics, economists and medical practitioners are trying their best to remove what they think are the causes of the brokenness, and to reassemble, reconstruct and restore life to what they consider to be ‘normal’. We do our best, but without God’s help, we will never succeed if we continue to refuse to acknowledge and to recognise that the cause of our brokenness is our sin.
Is there no hope? … is there no comfort? … has no one got an answer or plan to get us out of our broken society and shattered lives? … can anything be done to repair and restore us to wholeness?
“Yes … there is good news, tremendous news, news to give us confidence
and assurance for the future.
In the midst of the battering and brokenness, the splintering and shattering, the death and despair,
‘Almighty God, our Creator, our Father Who lives in heaven … in His great love for us
… sent His Son Jesus into the world to deal with sin and to repair the brokenness.’
Our Saviour, the Lord Jesus, Who is the human expression of our loving, faithful God gives us great words of encouragement and assurance, “In this world you will have trouble … but take heart, for I have overcome the world.” God, as our Creator, is the only One, the only Expert Who understands the problems, Who cares about our brokenness and Who is capable of reconstructing our lives.
~ He alone is able to repair, restore and renew us to be the people He created us to be.
~ He alone has defeated sin, Satan, death and hell on the cross, so we might be free from sin.
God said to His people Israel and He says similar words to us today:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt.”
Our future, for this life and the next, depends on our decision and response to God’s gracious offer. Many people today are refusing to come to ‘The Lord’s Repair Shop’. They are refusing to return to the Lord in humility and repentance, to ask for His forgiveness and help. But, for those who do turn to the Lord, there are wonderful promises in God’s Word as He repairs and restores us:
‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (he is a new person altogether);
the old has gone, (the broken, shattered life), the new has come.’
Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Saviour and Restorer?
Ron Brickman