Fixing the broken is easy when we’re talking about a cell phone. It’s a little harder when we’re talking about lives broken with sin. I don’t want to minimize the hurt that so many broken people are feeling around the world, but the way to fix the broken is found in Jesus. Paul writes in his letter to the Christians in Ephesus. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
I love how the NIV handles the Greek here; it’s clear, compassion. I have grown up with the NIV, but a commentary on these verses pointed me back to the King James. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
You end up at the same place, but the picture is that you don’t have a heart of stone. You heart goes out to those who are suffering. Take for example this picture. Fast food restaurants have been offering signing bonuses! The tenderhearted person wonders what made them all quit? Christian you can’t look at someone who is hurting without wondering why. What is causing the pain? What is the story behind that sad face? How can I help? Your heart is tender.
The truth is that it’s not enough for you to ask those questions and be tenderhearted. Consider what God has done for you! We’ve talked a lot about other people in this message, but the truth is that we are broken. God has made us to be objects of his love. It is love in Jesus that changes us. I started the sermon talking about that broken cell phone screen. Have you ever seen those fixed before? What we don’t do is try and fix the crack, that’s impossible. With a little warmth and a unhooking a few wires the broken screen is pitched in the trash and a new screen is installed. You are a dearly loved child of God, complete and whole – not fractured and broken. That is a message you can share. Christian, you are fixing the broken.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s lesson taken from the 4th and 5th chapters of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Tag(s): God's Word
Speaker(s): Fred Guldberg