Running Towards Brokenness
“And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17
So I have a pet peeve. You’re driving along on the interstate, singing your favorite songs embarrassingly loud (if you’re me), when all of the sudden you’re in a sea of red tail lights, stopped dead. Instead of continuing on their way, a mile of traffic has been stopped because of the human desire to gawk at the accident on the side of the road. It’s what we all do, right? I am the exact same way!
But I’m afraid that this urge surges up in my life beyond just traffic accidents.
It’s human nature to recoil from brokenness, from sickness, from fear and pain. We want to look the other way, to pray for them from afar, to slap a bandaid on the real hurt in front of us. Praise the Lord that Jesus does the exact opposite.
Throughout His life on earth, Jesus didn’t shy away from the raw pain and messiness of those around Him. In fact, He did the exact opposite. He sought out the weak and the sick - all those that society had deemed repulsive.
And He continues to do the same with you and me. Jesus knows the brokenness that lies within me, and He still runs towards me every day. He is the father picking up his robes to run to the prodigal son - the one who has done everything wrong. Jesus helps the brokenhearted, the sick, and the needy, and calls us to do the same.
How often do we really live like this? It’s easy to look at the expanse of hurt in our world and think that we are not qualified to help. Ann Voskamp says that “It’s easy to buy into the myth of scarcity instead of living in the mystery of abundance.” We have been given an incredible abundance so that we can then give to others.
God has equipped you and me with just what we need to make a difference with the needy around us. So what are we going to do today to help?
So today let’s live in the knowledge that Jesus has run TOWARDS our own neediness, so that we can do the same for others. I bet you know someone today that’s hurting, that you can help somehow. The next time you want to look away from a person in need, take a deep breath, and pray that the Lord will allow you to look them in the eye and do something about it.