Luke 6:32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”
It is a normal part of homeownership; something breaks, something stops performing, and something wears out. At that point, we must decide to fix it or ditch it. Making it useful again will require an investment of valuable time and unwanted frustration. Truthfully, the easier option is to just ditch it and get a new one.
Jesus had the same conundrum when it came to the broken people He encountered. He could have ditched them due to the frustrations and time they would take from His schedule. But not our loving Savior. He chose to stop and fix them. Jesus was committed to mending lives, piecing back together fractured relationships, and healing injured hearts when without a doubt, walking away would have been far less complicated.
Mary Magdalene was one of those. Seven demons controlled her body and mind. Walking away from this cursed woman was what everyone else had done, but not Jesus. His power and love cast out her demons and restored her to a useful life of service.
Zacchaeus was a flawed man when the Savior found him in a tree. This little man’s heart lay fractured among the glitter of his possessions. But as Jesus journeyed through Jericho, Zacchaeus’s broken life took precedence over His agenda. The Savior’s gift of time bound this man’s heart with compassion and restored Zacchaeus’s focus on what was important.
In my most glorious daydreams, I visualize myself investing time into lost and broken souls with a Jesus-heart. Then quickly I am jerked back into reality as I read the red letters of Luke 6:27-31 and discover the depth of this calling. The Jesus-method of restoring lives involves loving the difficult people, finding ways to bless those who hurt you, praying for those who spread rumors about you behind your back, sharing what you have with those you feel do not deserve it, and offering generosity when your spirit wearies of carrying them. Yikes!
So, should you ever wonder if tossing aside broken and hurting people would be easier than restoring them, wonder no more. But, we are called to love like Jesus loved, with a love so deep it will require time and frustration. But friend, as you choose today how to love, remember this: Jesus never ditches us when we find ourselves fractured. His loving desire is always to fix us.
Father God, we praise you for redeeming us, even in our times of brokenness.
Blessings,
Rita Cochrane