This Thing About Brokenness

One of the hardest-to-embrace things about Christianity, to me, is that brokenness is an important way God uses to make us like Jesus.

I have no idea how many times I have looked up toward God and said in exasperation, “It doesn’t have to be this way!  You can use less painful means!”

Then I was stopped in my tracks one day while snacking, (how mundane!) because the label read “Broken Almond Pieces.”  Broken.  That is how the nutrition comes out of the nut into my body.  It must be broken.  By a machine, by teeth, by stomach acid, grinding food into tinier and tinier pieces.

This picture of brokenness bringing the goodness out of things is everywhere.  How about in coffee grounds?  The beans must be crushed to release the flavor.

For all the essential oils we use, the plant must be cut, pulverized, smashed.  Broken.

It’s in bread, too.  You’ll remember he said at the Last Supper, “This [bread] is my body, which is broken for you.”  

This thing about brokenness was depressing for a long time, because I only saw half the story.  The rest of the story is what happens after that.

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, BUT!!! later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies [brokenness], it remains alone; but if it dies, it BEARS MUCH FRUIT.” John 12:24

Look why Jesus endured it:  “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM endured the cross,”
Hebrews 12:2a

He did it for the joy that would follow afterwards.

Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to be broken, but the fruit it brings is incredible.

Please notice I’m NOT saying God broke you, or that he killed your child or gave you cancer.  But I am saying he uses those kinds of experiences.  I did not say anyone deserves to be crushed, only that we all seem to get beaten up in life, and Father turns those things for our good (Rom 8:28).

So next time you are drinking coffee or eating bread, remember two things. What you’re eating has to be broken down beyond recognition. And, the result of it is you get something very good. You get nourishment so your body can function and move. You get energy, and maybe caffeine and sugar. You get something tasty.