On Mending Broken Pots and Broken Lives
Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer
Some years ago one of my sisters gave our mother this pottery popcorn keeper. Being more fragile than it looked, the lid, lip, and handle broke. Because it had sentimental value as well as good looks, we kept it. Last summer I decided to glue it back together. I sat on my porch, and aided by warm weather and bright sunlight, the project was a success, although since I used a water-soluble glue it is no longer usable for its original purpose.
After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He went into the wilderness to fast and pray and then to be tempted by Satan. After this experience he returned to Galilee and eventually to His hometown of Nazareth where He attended the synagogue. He read from Isaiah 61. It is important to note that Jesus proclaimed that He was the fulfillment of this Scripture. In Isaiah one important phrase of this prophecy is “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,” thus reminding us Jesus came to restore that which was broken. (For the full account see Luke 4:14-30 and Isaiah 61.)
Jesus focused on the most basic needs of human beings. And the most basic need of all is repairing the broken relationship between the creature and the Creator. In the John 10:1-21 Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Shepherd. In it he declares, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (verse 10b). In John 3:16 he gives us a clear definition of the kind of life he is speaking of, eternal life. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” It is here that broken people are truly mended.
Every Cross Disciple knows what it means to be a broken pot that has been mended. But, unlike my popcorn jar, when the Lord mends a pot it is stronger and more beautiful than it was before it was broken – and is fully restored to its original design and purpose.
Some other passages to consider about mending broken people are: Psalm 34:18; Psalm 51:10; Psalm 51:17; Psalm 147:3; and 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.
(Photo credit: RA Stites)
