Blessed in Brokenness

Luke 15:11-32 “And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’ And so he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate in wild living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began doing without. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he longed to have his fill of the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving him anything. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here from hunger! ‘I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one…”

Psalms 51:16-18 “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise. By Your favor do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem.”

The Meaning of Brokenness: A Part of Everyday Life

Brokenness – no one makes it through life avoiding it.

I’ve broken pencils and Christmas ornaments and promises and my bones.

I’ve had broken friendships, broken dreams, a broken heart.

I’ve felt fevers break after wracking my body with shivers, sensed my will break after long internal struggles, heard tension-infused silences break with soft and gentle or loud and angry voices.

You see? There’s a whole lot of ways to be broken, and from our souls to our fingertips, brokenness is woven throughout all our human experience.

And if anything involves us intimately, God has a lot to say about it. The meaning of brokenness in the Bible could be fleshed out into books upon books. Scripture is brimming with themes of broken people, situations, hearts – and, most importantly, a broken Savior.

Let’s Not Miss The Real Meanings Of Brokenness

Brokenness might not be a foreign concept to us, but it is often a misunderstood one.

It seems like brokenness can easily just become this trendy, vague word we like to slap onto our messiness and imperfection. It can become something we use to ask for pity or to describe our lives the moment we’re uncomfortable.

Because it really is all too real, and we do all experience it. Let’s not settle for a trendy idea. Let’s understand what true brokenness is – its undeniable reality, it’s at times striking brutality, its raw humanness, its inherent beauty, and its place in God’s heart.

The main text that we are considering is the story known as “The Prodigal Son”. In truth, it is really more about the Gracious Father than the reckless younger son, or the selfish older son. The point of this parable is to show God’s love for His “lost” children, and His desire to rescue them. Jesus is really talking about His mission to rescue us. The father represents God, while the younger son represents the outsiders to whom Jesus is ministering- the children, poor, sick, and all manner of sinners. THe older son, who is often overlooked in this story, represents those who are already inside the house who look down on those outside- outside of their circle, outside of their church, outside of their click, outside of their “amazing” relationship with God. May we remember that we were once outsiders and never act like the older son; may we remember the father’s love and patience when we were acting like the younger son and never return to our former existence; may we be constantly reminded of the fact that He is “Father” and we are “son” or daughter” and that we can always return home.

I selected this text in order to focus on the aforementioned subject of brokenness. Let us look at five forms of brokenness as illustrated in the text.

Five Forms of Brokenness In The Prodigal Story

1. Self inflicted Brokenness

This kind of brokenness is inward – a contrite spirit over our own sinfulness- the realization thatwe are broken because we have broken ourselves by choosing our will over the father’s. As with the son in this parable, it will lead to humility, surrender, and godly repentance. It’s painful to look into an honest mirror and see who we are and what we’ve done as people who are capable of horrible things, but personal brokenness is is an opportunity for restoration, and for us to authentically enjoy our friendship with God again.

2. Brokenness in Us Can Break Others

It’s true what they say – hurt people hurt people. Since we’re all born with fractured and dark hearts, our intentions, speech, and actions divide, separate, and damage other people. We’ve all been on both sides of the coin, some to greater degrees than others, but we can all probably think of times we’ve hurt others, and we’ve definitely found ourselves as the victim of another person’s sin. The younger son broke himself by breaking away from his realtionship with the Father; his actions also broke the Father’s heart.

3. The World’s Brokenness Can Breaks Us Too

No one gets through life without feeling the brokenness of the world. If you’ve ever gotten a shocking phone call or suffered an intense physical sickness or lost someone you love. And if you’ve not yet encountered a life circumstance that brings you to your knees, you will. Don’t let that reality scare you. Let it sober you and direct your gaze to Jesus, the One who overcomes the world. The son had to be broken twice- first by the consequences of choosing His will over God’s- and broken again with the realization of the truth: this broken world & broken people cannot offer wholeness. The broken can only offer broken & imperfect imitations the Father’s gifts.

4. Brokenness Can Bring Unexpected Beauty

If you inspect the life of anyone who has achieved greatness- withing the Body of Christ or outside of it- you’ll find that most often the greatest shaping of their lives came not from their strengths or moments when they got ahead, but from their struggles. Because our God is a redemptive God and so counterintuitive to the way we think, He will always take our brokenness and bring new life and beauty from it. The younger son didn’t appreaciate the Father’s “House” (His love, protection, provision an safety). He thought that His could take the Father’s wealth and provide for himself. But right there, in a pig sty- literally sitting in his mess- he was changed. He gained an appreciation for his sonship…the peace that comes from knowing that there is no place in the whole world that is greater than in the will of God.

5. The Cure for Brokenness: A Broken Jesus For Broken World

Here is brokenness that makes the worst of life bearable – the brokenness of Jesus Christ. We’re forever known, held, loved, understood, and befriended in our brokenness and whatever it entails. Jesus comes near because He’s been there too. You no longer need to bear anything that’s breaking you alone.

In Hebrews 2:9-18, And said concisely in Hebrews 4:15 where it’s explained that because Jesus was broken and suffered, He can meet us exactly where we are at, extending mercy in our time of need.

The meaning of brokenness in the Bible is deep and rich. Its varied but closely related aspects touch all sides of our brokenness, reminding us that God is no stranger to our human experience. As we awake more and more to his presence and working in our lives, we can find hope in knowing our brokenness isn’t pointless. On the contrary, it’s worth something of immeasurable value. It will drive us further into the heart of the One who makes us whole.