“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of
wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.
But if it dies, it produces many
seeds. “ John 12:24
We all need to die. For salvation
to occur, we must humble ourselves, admit our sin, repent of living for self,
and trust fully in the work of Christ. Justification
requires death to self.
In the same way, sanctification (i.e. the process of becoming more and
more like Jesus) requires death. For us to grow in Christ and increasingly
yield to His will in our lives, we must die to pride and self-reliance. 2 Cor. 4:11 says, “For we who are alive are always being
given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be
revealed in our mortal body.”
Spurgeon once said, “When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an
impossible man and breaks him.” Brokenness is painful no matter what. However, if we willingly yield to Christ, the
brokenness process is a bit less painful.
“Anyone who falls on this stone will be
broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” Mt. 21:44
We can either “fall on this stone” of Jesus, and the brokenness process
is less painful. Or, we can be the one
“on whom it falls” and thus be “crushed.”
The choice is ours. Either way,
God wants to break us, because being broken is the means by which we get be rebuilt
according to His plan and purpose. We
can willfully submit to Him, or we can have Him crush us through circumstances
that defeat our pride and self-dependence.
I see this all the time in pastoral ministry. If a person is willing to submit to God and
walk in His will, there will still be pain, but it will be a lot less painful
to be broken, because we are willingly yielding to Him. On the other hand, if a person refuses to submit
to God, goes his own way, lives a life of sin, then God will have to bring
circumstances to bear, and often pain, to break this person of self-reliance.
This is the person who is arrested for a DUI, has a spouse walk out on him for
his abuse, hit rock bottom in his addiction, or “broken” through some other
situation.
Never forget that God’s motivation in breaking us is love. He loves us so much that He is committed to
our development. “The Lord disciplines
those whom He loves… No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but
painful. Later on, however, it produces
a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it”
(Hebr. 12:6, 11). It hurts so good when
we see the fruit that brokenness brings.
Finally, in humbling ourselves and going through the brokenness process,
we are identifying with Jesus. For He
humbled himself to death, was broken for our sin, and in so doing accomplished
eternal redemption.
Is brokenness worth it? You
bet. Does brokenness bring glory to God?
Absolutely. Be broken. Be like Jesus. For God’s honor.
