One of my treasured moments is to spend time on the beach listening to God, watching the ocean rise and fall and contemplating His creation. On one of those occasions, I was scanning the sand looking for some beautiful shells to take back to my young children. Without giving it much thought, I shot up a quick prayer. “Lord, would You help me find some perfect shells?” I was not expecting the answer I got.
“I prefer the broken ones.”
It was a very clear response, but a puzzling one.
“Why the broken ones?” I responded.
“It’s the broken ones who know they need Me.”
Brokenness. Aren’t we all trying to avoid that? Isn’t God supposed to protect us? Yet God says that the broken ones are those who realize their need for Him. Our tendency toward self-reliance and self-sufficiency does not draw us closer to our Creator, it drives us farther away. It gives us a false sense of security and control.
Like a beautiful vase, we can make the outside look attractive to others and make ourselves feel good, but be empty on the inside. What about a clay jar that has been broken, some of the pieces missing, and glued back together? When we have been broken, the crevices and cracks allow God’s light to shine through to others, drawing them closer to the Christ within us.
Being broken is not pleasant, but necessary. In our brokenness we can be a window that allows others to see God in us.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body” (2 Corinthians 4:7-11).
I struggle with perfectionism. But God keeps showing me that He loves transparency. If we are to draw others to Christ, we will be broken over and over. We will fail. We will make mistakes. We need not be ashamed of sharing that brokenness when led to do so. Who are we more likely to feel comfortable around? Is it perfect people, or those who share their struggles?
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account. Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great, for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11).
Did the Pharisees demonstrate God’s heart or the woman with the alabaster jar?
I was at a Messianic Jewish synagogue attending a service many years ago. A total stranger leaned over to me and said, “Myrrh has to be crushed to release its fragrance.” That was all he said, but it spoke to my heart. At that time, I was enduring a crushing or breaking. If we are to be the aroma (or fragrance) of Christ, we need to go through this process over and over.
We have a choice. Let us be the fragrance of Christ. The world needs that, and so do we.
How has brokenness been a blessing to you? I would love to hear your thoughts.