The Broken Chain

     One day I was listening to the radio.  A short audio clip caught my attention.  A lady pointed out the top two commandments.  When asked which is the greatest commandment, Jesus replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." [Matt22:37-40]. 

     The speaker on the radio pointed out that our approach to each other should follow this example.  I was taken aback.  Love.  Approach interact with EVERYONE ALWAYS out of love.  Why had this never occurred to me?  I had many struggles as a child, young adult, and even as an adult.  I know my trials, and reasonings.  I expect people to react to me with grace when I am not at my best.  I expect this because I know what is going on in my life, what walls I have built and what experiences and interactions I have had through the years.  Why when others fall short of my expectations have I not offered them the grace I expect?  Oh no!  My whole view of people, humanity, life itself is in need of an over-haul!  I have to rethink my opinions, I have to reconsider my relationships.
     One particular person came to mind.  I remembered thinking of a time years before when an acquaintance was making some decisions that seemed crazy and irresponsible.  I remember judging those decisions.  You probably couldn't have convinced me that I was doing it at the time, but I'm here to be real....I was VERY opinionated about her decisions!  Our paths crossed only weeks after this epiphany.  I knew I just had to dig into this new way of thinking.  I opened up to this lady and immediately realized that she came from some of the same brokenness I come from.  Oh, what have I done?
     We decided to share lunch together.  During this time she shared more and more of the trials and struggles she had been through over the past several years.  The misery with which she dealt.  She even admitted that she knew some people had questioned her decisions, but she was just trying to survive.  She was just trying to bring some kind of happiness and fulfillment into her situation. 
     As she sat there and poured out her heart, I wondered if she knew that I had been one of the scoffers.  I broke.  My eyes stung as they flooded with tears.  Oh, the YEARS of friendship I had missed out on because of my "opinions".  We had been friends on a social scale, but I'm talking about that deep, Spirit-connected friendship.  Had I only been willing to listen, willing to approach that relationship with the 2 greatest commandments in mind, would we have had an unforgettable history as sisters in Christ?  I could have been a shoulder to cry on or an active listener.  I missed an opportunity to love.
     I have an example of how to live this out.  More than once I have run across a situation at a nursery where a mom repeatedly forgets the bottle and/or the formula for a baby.  Workers complain, eyes roll as the diaper bag is searched.  In the past, I'm sure I would be a fellow eye-roller had I not heard this devotional.  Now, I try to tap into this way of thinking.  Why does this mom repeatedly forget?  Maybe she's just forgetful.  Maybe she has family or friend struggles and it takes everything she has to get out of the front door.  Maybe she's exhausted.  Does it matter?  What would it take to purchase a bottle and some formula in case this happens again, and maybe, just maybe, be the only glimpse of Jesus this person receives that day.  Hmmm...Makes you think of your reactions and words a little differently, doesn't it? 
     As with everyone, I have had struggles in my life, some of them recently.  I know without a doubt that some people made assumptions about why I was acting the way I was.  If just one person had asked, I would have had someone in whom I could confide.  Someone rooting for me, if you will.  The funny thing about thinking this way is this:  Once you realize that you are acting the way you are out of brokenness, even the assumptions of others becomes quickly forgivable because guess what?  They're broken too.
     We are all broken!  This is not meant to be a downer, but an eye-opener.  On top of that, brokenness begets brokenness.  Our actions and reactions out of brokenness create more brokenness in others, which makes them continue to act and react out of brokenness. What a vicious and hopeless cycle if we didn't know that God always makes a way out of darkness and trials. The cool thing is that it is okay to be broken!  It is simply a recognition that we have a desperate need for a Savior!  Now, the chain of brokenness can become a strong chain of healing....spiritual healing.  There are big areas that need to be healed and there are tiny areas.  God wants them all.  How exciting is that?  We learn to check our heart before we take action.  We learn to have Spiritual awareness.
     I close with the lyrics of one of my favorite musicians, Brandon Heath:

"Give me Your eyes for just one second, give me Your eyes so I can see, everything that I've been missing, give me Your love for humanity.  Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted the ones that are far beyond my reach, give me Your heart for the ones forgotten, give me Your eyes so I can see."

     Oh, and two things to remember:  Knowledge of this is freeing and refreshing, but you and I will still act and react out of brokenness at times.  We still need Jesus and we still mess up.  It is so much less frequent once you ask for God's point of view, though. Also, don't mix up love with being tolerant of sin.  Think about it this way, what better way can you love someone than to try and bring them closer to God?  Sometimes, hard things have to be said, if said out of love and bathed in prayer.  Just ask God if you are the one He has called to confront the person and what words He will give you.  If He gives you no words, you are probably not the one He has called to this duty, or it is not the right time.