Broken & Bruised
Each Thursday I head over to a Bible study, of sorts, attended by "young" mothers taught by "old" mothers. The golden nugget to this mix is that the young mamas are able to take a page or two out of those old mamas tried and tested books of wisdom. Some Thursdays are full of laughter, some are full of frustration, and some are full of tears. This Thursday was particularly weepy. The reason? We are all scared of screwing up our kids. This got me thinking...
We are all bruised and broken. All of us. No one is exempt. But eventually you get used to your bruises and breaks. So much so that you don't even notice that they hurt anymore. Others may see them, remember them, and ask about them, and you are surprised. You almost have to remind yourself of the pain because you are dulled to it. Fresh wounds are easy to see and always a reminder to you and those around you. It seems that they will never heal and they don't, really. You just get used to the pain and work it into your life. Work it in and live with it, or around it, until the wound gets opened again.
There are a million, rough estimate, books out there about dealing with pain and healing and how to deal with it healthily. But what is healthy? Our world is bruised and broken; fallen. What does healthy look like? What does it feel like? How do you work a broken heart or a bruised memory into your life, healthily? You can't. There's the rub. You can't. There is nothing on this bruised and broken earth that can heal a wound and take away a scar. That is why Jesus was broken and bruised, wounded for your affliction. He takes all of the wounds of the world and heals them. The Balm of Gilead.
God can not look at sin. He can not look at the bruised and broken. And here's the cool thing. Jesus steps in between the bruised and broken so that His Father just sees Him. To God, all the bruises look the same. No matter how we classify our transgressions, He sees them all the same. Disobeying your parents is right up there with the murderers. Hard to fathom, but that's not our job.
So why do we suffer? "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) I love "prepared beforehand". I am no theologian but I think that we are what is "prepared beforehand". God prepares us for good works by our bruises and brokenness. And this is what we can do, help others. Use what has prepared us. Seek out others that are broken and bruised and love them.
God also promises in 2 Corinthians 4:17, "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison". What you go through on earth does not compare to the glory of spending eternity with your Savior. A momentary affliction. "as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (v18). Transient versus Eternal. I think we'd all double down on eternal.
You can't screw up your kids because we are not eternal, but transient. His workmanship, not ours. So take a deep breath and relax. It's not all up to you.
We are all bruised and broken. All of us. No one is exempt. But eventually you get used to your bruises and breaks. So much so that you don't even notice that they hurt anymore. Others may see them, remember them, and ask about them, and you are surprised. You almost have to remind yourself of the pain because you are dulled to it. Fresh wounds are easy to see and always a reminder to you and those around you. It seems that they will never heal and they don't, really. You just get used to the pain and work it into your life. Work it in and live with it, or around it, until the wound gets opened again.
There are a million, rough estimate, books out there about dealing with pain and healing and how to deal with it healthily. But what is healthy? Our world is bruised and broken; fallen. What does healthy look like? What does it feel like? How do you work a broken heart or a bruised memory into your life, healthily? You can't. There's the rub. You can't. There is nothing on this bruised and broken earth that can heal a wound and take away a scar. That is why Jesus was broken and bruised, wounded for your affliction. He takes all of the wounds of the world and heals them. The Balm of Gilead.
God can not look at sin. He can not look at the bruised and broken. And here's the cool thing. Jesus steps in between the bruised and broken so that His Father just sees Him. To God, all the bruises look the same. No matter how we classify our transgressions, He sees them all the same. Disobeying your parents is right up there with the murderers. Hard to fathom, but that's not our job.
So why do we suffer? "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) I love "prepared beforehand". I am no theologian but I think that we are what is "prepared beforehand". God prepares us for good works by our bruises and brokenness. And this is what we can do, help others. Use what has prepared us. Seek out others that are broken and bruised and love them.
God also promises in 2 Corinthians 4:17, "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison". What you go through on earth does not compare to the glory of spending eternity with your Savior. A momentary affliction. "as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (v18). Transient versus Eternal. I think we'd all double down on eternal.
You can't screw up your kids because we are not eternal, but transient. His workmanship, not ours. So take a deep breath and relax. It's not all up to you.
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