BROKEN – Part 1 - Is there a Solution? In our life surely, we have experience that something slipped out of our hand and broke. What if that what have been broken is valuable economically and/or emotionally to someone?... What will be your reaction for making that damaged?... How will you repair it?... How will you make it whole again? Many times, the case is that simply it is impossible. The trust and relations are broken also. A colleague shared with me an experience that he still remembers with pettiness. He was a driver at that time, needed to collect an item in a nearby area to deliver this at London. The customer informed him that the item is very fragile. He confident took it with his hands and said: ‘Yes sir, it will be fine’. The way he was holding it made the owner very concerned and he warn him again ‘ be careful it is very fragile and valuable’. He confident answered ‘Don’t worry it will be…. Brkxxxix… good’. The item slipped out of his hands, felt suddenly on the brick floor and broke before he could even finish his sentence. The feeling was terrible, as he lifted his head to see the owner of the item, he saw the look on the face that was full of sadness, disappointment, and hopeless. The customer’s valuable item has now turned into pieces. Later, he found out that the item was a very antique and valuable vessel, that was going to be presented in an important exhibition in London. The good part is that the insurance cover the cost. But the emotional value and the troubled caused that was lost, could not be cover, all this cannot be made whole again. And for that he was so disappointed of him-self, for not been more careful. He admits his fault and felt sorrow for his doing. How many times for ‘not been more careful’ of just ‘careful’ we have broken things not considering the harm, the value, the effort made by the owner to obtain it, or how very dear this was to a person, how meaningful, the difficult situation that that person will face because of ‘not been careful’. Things that cannot be whole again. These are material things, yet affect us, in some way it marks us. Leviticus present laws in how to face these situations to amend the damage caused to your neighbour. Almost 6000 years ago, someone intentionally tried to break something very import, meaningful, something of great value, and succeed. Satan tried to break the relation between man and God, to take over. Unfortunately, due to our disobedience, he succeeds in it. Never-the-less, he was not satisfied to break our relationship with God, but he also was determined to brake God’s creation, to break something very dear to God, you and me. And all that are under his banner work to push forward his wicked cause. e.g. Cain, killing Abel. With our sinful nature we are made destroyer. Sometimes willingly, we do everything possible to break another, simply because we hold something against them. How terrible is ‘Sin’. The Bible recall the greatness of the creation and the marvellous way it was created by God. How dear it is to God, and how good in a great way this was it completed. This until sin came in, with the knowledge of evil. The entry of Sin to this earth came not only with her faithful companion ‘Death’, but with so much more, the breaking our relationship with God broke us too. Like a branch that is cut out off the tree, it has lived only for a few, but attached on the tree can live so much more and bare fruits. Now as a branch that is now separated from the tree that provide her sap, broken is destinate to die. Communion with God lost by disobedience= broken, Household without companionship= broken; Lack of gentleness, love, compassion, understanding, attention, hope, faith, temperance = broken; Ego, pride, vandalism, anger, violence, jealousy, criticism, dishonesty, conspiracy, envy, rude, Indifference= broken; Loss of a dear one (a child, parents, spouse), illness, misery, loose job, and all what you worked for; Orphan, Bullied, abused, abandoned, betrayal, injustice, separate of your love one and Death=broken. All of these leave us broken, some try to heal them self but remaining very fragile. Job 8:9 For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow. Psalm 144:4 ‘Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away’. The book ‘Story of Redemption’ recalled that great sadness filled the heavens, and that the Great Plan of Redemption was put in place, this results in fully bringing back the world into God’s favour. All that was lost by sin is restored. The heaven rejoices again, there is a way of salvation for humanity. But the cost is very high, the Son of God is to pay the price to redeem a creation that is more willing to be under the banner of the enemy of souls. Heaven implement all possible to offer the salvation, and to help us achieve it. Knowing how sin have deformed us, making us weak and broken. At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus read with conviction the following words at a synagogue: Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release from darkness to the prisoners, Psalm 107:20 He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit. John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble of spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite. Psalm 34:18 ‘The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.’ Ezekiel 34:16 I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice’ A woman drift by love for her Lord broke a valuable essence container and she spilled it out on her Lord, a gesture of love, of appreciation of what He has done for her. She wanted to give Him her best. Just for Love of her Jesus. God’s precious treasure, her Lord Jesus soon was going to be broken and spilled out for her, for the humanity, to heal the broken and bind up the wounded of all the humanity for all the generations that is willing to be healed. Psalms 147:3 ‘ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds’. Jesus experience all our trails and he prevail before the wicket, before the evil, before disappointment. Proverbios 13:9 The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. He shows us on the Cross that He is Willing, willing to be broken and spill out for you and me to be healed. The question is are we willing to receive His healing? Let me warn you, you will also be broken and spill out, but under His hand you will be transformed for good. Next week we will talk about this. Hymn - Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.