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.