Broken Shells or Perfection?

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 walking along looking for some beautiful shells to take back to my 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 answered.

"It's the broken ones who know they need Me."

Food for thought for sure. 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.

Think of a beautiful vase representing ourselves. We can make the outside look so attractive to impress others and make ourselves feel good, but we can 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, there are crevices and cracks through which God's light can shine toward others, drawing them closer to the Christ in us.

Being broken is not pleasant, but necessary. In our brokenness we can be a window that allows others to see God in us, or we can choose to hide under a bushel basket and pretend that we have everything under control.

I Corinthians 4: 12
When men revile us [wound us with an accursed sting], we bless them. When we are persecuted, we take it patiently and endure it.

Matthew 5:11
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.

Many of us 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? Did the Pharisees demonstrate God's heart or the woman with the alabaster jar?

True story. 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 was all that needed to be said. 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.

II Corinthians 4:7-11
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.

I agree with you - I don't want to go through all that either. But while we are on this planet, and if we are to call ourselves Christians (little Christs) it is inevitable. The good news is that you cannot lose if you don't quit. We have a choice. Let us be the fragrance of Christ. The world needs that and so do we.

Are You Up There, God?

What do step ladders and Christian growth have in common? Well, I didn’t know either until the Lord showed me this picture. Imagine your Christian walk is similar to standing on a step ladder, say on a middle step. You have been there for a while and you have become comfortable spiritually. Life is going reasonably well.

Then, unexpectedly, something not so wonderful happens to you or a family member. It might be an illness, failing a class, losing a dear friend, or a financial blow. It takes you by surprise. All of sudden it feels like the rug has been pulled out from under you, or like the step you are standing on has been shattered.

When God breaks the step you are on, you have three choices. You can step up the ladder and draw closer to God - trust Him when the crisis doesn’t make sense, hold on to Him and ride out the storm, remain faithful to Him and pray it through. That’s the first choice.

Or you can fall back to a lower step. In other words, instead of growing spiritually you spend less time with God, read your Bible less, and turn to things that will ‘get you through this mess’ like overeating, spending more time on the Internet, and/or watching more videos or TV.

The third option is to jump off the ladder. If we allow ourselves to become bitter and angry at God because of the crisis, it’s like bailing out on your faith, or jumping completely off the path to spiritual maturity.

Having this picture in mind has helped me many times to avoid the very human tendency to bail out or hide out. When each crisis comes I have to remind myself that I can trust God in all circumstances even when I don’t understand why or how the crisis happened. It’s not easy. But we cannot stay in the same place in life and grow spiritually. Standing still eventually becomes back sliding. We need to keep moving upward if we are to continue growing closer to God.

So what will it be the next time things seem to go haywire in our lives? Will we be committed to step up closer to God and seek Him with more intensity, or will we back slide down a step, or jump off the ladder and call it quits? At some point in my life I have tried each of the three options. I have never regretted stepping up the ladder but I have always regretted choosing the other two options. There are awesome things to see and learn on the next step up, if we will just hang on and seek Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. It’s not easy, but it is rewarding.

I Peter 1:6-7

…though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, so that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire.

I Peter 4:12

Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange were befalling you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph.

Do we really trust Him as Lord in all things? If so, let us step up, and draw closer to Him.

I Peter 5:10

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.