Broken Reflections

Broken Reflections

Life can be hard. Things can get messy. It's nearly impossible to live in a relation-vacuum, completely isolated from the brokeness and faults of others.

As I met with and talked to a brother in Christ this weekend, I was reminded of just how insane this world can be. It is so easy to sit in judgement of others. So often we are certain of what is wrong with someone else--what changes they need to make in their lives. But how often do people need a know-it-all in their lives? How often to they need a compassionate ear to listen too?

Listening to the pain in his voice, I wasn't filled with answers. I was filled with compassion. With understanding. Do I approve of all the choices he has made in recent months? No, of course not. But do I approve of all the choices I have made in recent months? No, I don't.

I'm a believer in outrageous, scandelous grace. It is one thing to post that in a profile, share it on social media, or write a blog post about it. It's another to live it out. It isn't possible to do on your own strength. The example we look to for grace is in the life and work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus changed my life. I am not the same man I was just a few years ago. What changed my life was an understanding that Jesus loved me enough to give His life for me while I was still at rock bottom. I didn't clean myself up and then come to Christ. He came to me in the middle of my mess. He wasn't turned away by the hate, filth, and total selfishness that was my life. He saw through all that. He saw my heart as it was designed by God. He saw all I could be, and He believed in me long before I ever believed in Him.

Like my friend, I am broken. We have this in common. We are imperfect people trying to make sense of this world we live in. The answer is Jesus. The answer is always Jesus. The more we talked, the more clear this was. I know where my friend has been. I know how close he has been to Jesus, and I know how distant he has been too. My consistent advice was seek Jesus. Don't try and control your other relationships. Put Jesus first. Focus on that, above all else. He is there. Turn to Him. See how everything else changes.

As we draw nearer to Jesus, the other relationships we have in life may fall away. Some relationships may not be restored on this side of eternity. At some point, we have to accept that this is okay. However, we may also find that in letting go of our need to cling to these broken relationships Jesus is able to work in them in ways that are beyond our comprehension. I am amazed at how many friendships and marriages I've seen healed and restored after all sides gave up and just sincerely sought Jesus, letting Him work in their lives.

Here is something that I know to be true. Any offense others have done to us pales in comparison to how badly we have failed to meet God's standard. Yet He chose forgiveness. He chose torture and death in order to save us. He can reconcile our relationship with Himself. Through grace. Outrageous grace. Scandelous grace.

For six months my brother has been hearing about all the ways he has been messing up. He has been defined and labeld by others. He has received both judgements and consequences for both his thoughts and his actions. The one thing he hasn't been hearing is that God still loves him. He hasn't been hearing that anyone at all loves him.

My role in the converstation was to speak truth into his life. The truth that he is loved. The truth that he is forgiven, even now in the midst of the darkest night of his life. To speak reminders of where we've been, of all the incredible things that Jesus has done in our lives. To remind us of how real those times were. Miracle after miracle that we've seen together. The light in the darkness. The hope to the hopeless. The glorious savior, not just reaching out to us but actively pursuing us.

I spoke to my brother not as a perfect person with everything figured out. I spoke to him as a fellow prisoner, ensnared in my own chains of sin. I may be more comfortable with mine than I am with his, but we are both in chains. I'm just one prisoner helping another to remember what it looks like to have the sun shine on his face. In the son, we have the strength and hope to continue in the fight. Darkness will not prevail.