I grew up next to a community park as World War II was ending. In the park was a building where toys were loaned. Mom would take her three small children to the park every week and let us pick out a toy to take home. The following week we would take the toy back and pick out another one. We looked forward to each visit.
Sometimes the toys broke. They were simple wooden toys, some with wheels, some with square blocks, some with chipped paint. The ladies in the "toy" building repaired and fixed and painted the broken toys. Each toy had many, many lives and brought happiness to many, many children. The parents of these children had grown up during the Great Depression and were now seeing their brothers and friends in military uniforms. Life had not been especially kind to them. Having a park with a "toy loan" program was a bright spot in their lives. Fixing broken toys was important.
We break too. Some time ago, the television news featured the shooting death of a young married man with three children that I knew. His wife and children were broken. A few weeks ago, a young unmarried girl discovered she was pregnant. Her life is broken today. Some parents recently accompanied their adult child to court where she was sentenced to prison leaving the grandchildren without a parent at home. Their lives were broken.
Here is some Good News for you. God fixes broken people and uses them again. Scripture is full of the Rahabs, Davids, Peters, and Marks. And, you can always look around you in your church and see the "damaged goods" that God has repaired. But, the real problem is when YOU are broken and when YOU need to be fixed. Can you believe that God will fix and repair even you so that you can be used again? Most of the time we are not even aware that God has begun the repair process. It may be a kind word spoken by a friend. Perhaps, a short letter from a stranger. Or, a long hug and a squeezed hand at just the right time. Maybe, it is just sitting quietly before an open Bible at 3:00 a.m. some morning when you cannot sleep.
I broke my ankle many years ago. Broken bones heal and actually become stronger than before the break. God can do that with you too. Brokenness can bring a stronger person out of you. The scar is always there to remind you, but the bone is stronger than before. I doubt that David ever forgot that he murdered Uriah and violated Bathsheba. That scar would always be there to remind him that he was broken. But, the important issue is not whether you were broken, we all are broken; no, the important issue is whether you are fixed and repaired and used again. And David was fixed and repaired and used again. You can be too.
God comes to mend broken people. He says that "the person who comes to Him will not be cast out," and that "a bruised reed he will not break and smoking flax he will not put out." This is the God of the Second Chance, the God who wants to fix you too.
Sometimes the toys broke. They were simple wooden toys, some with wheels, some with square blocks, some with chipped paint. The ladies in the "toy" building repaired and fixed and painted the broken toys. Each toy had many, many lives and brought happiness to many, many children. The parents of these children had grown up during the Great Depression and were now seeing their brothers and friends in military uniforms. Life had not been especially kind to them. Having a park with a "toy loan" program was a bright spot in their lives. Fixing broken toys was important.
We break too. Some time ago, the television news featured the shooting death of a young married man with three children that I knew. His wife and children were broken. A few weeks ago, a young unmarried girl discovered she was pregnant. Her life is broken today. Some parents recently accompanied their adult child to court where she was sentenced to prison leaving the grandchildren without a parent at home. Their lives were broken.
Here is some Good News for you. God fixes broken people and uses them again. Scripture is full of the Rahabs, Davids, Peters, and Marks. And, you can always look around you in your church and see the "damaged goods" that God has repaired. But, the real problem is when YOU are broken and when YOU need to be fixed. Can you believe that God will fix and repair even you so that you can be used again? Most of the time we are not even aware that God has begun the repair process. It may be a kind word spoken by a friend. Perhaps, a short letter from a stranger. Or, a long hug and a squeezed hand at just the right time. Maybe, it is just sitting quietly before an open Bible at 3:00 a.m. some morning when you cannot sleep.
I broke my ankle many years ago. Broken bones heal and actually become stronger than before the break. God can do that with you too. Brokenness can bring a stronger person out of you. The scar is always there to remind you, but the bone is stronger than before. I doubt that David ever forgot that he murdered Uriah and violated Bathsheba. That scar would always be there to remind him that he was broken. But, the important issue is not whether you were broken, we all are broken; no, the important issue is whether you are fixed and repaired and used again. And David was fixed and repaired and used again. You can be too.
God comes to mend broken people. He says that "the person who comes to Him will not be cast out," and that "a bruised reed he will not break and smoking flax he will not put out." This is the God of the Second Chance, the God who wants to fix you too.
