Can the Broken be Fixed?

News from Iraq is deeply disturbing. We may have thought that that Iraqi disaster was getting fixed, but the ISIS capture of Mosul opens new chasms of disintegration down which the many peoples of Iraq may now plunge.

In most places in the world that we may choose to look - Ukraine, Syria, Northern Ireland, Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan, the UN General Assembly, the EU, Brazil, our own Government, Egypt, the wider Muslim world - disintegration is the name of the game. Serious minded destroyers are doing very well these days.

So I wonder 'Can the Broking be Fixed?

St. Paul was thoroughly convinced that God is capable of fixing our broken world. 'Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.' (1 Corinthians 15.1-4)

God's decisive action in and through Jesus has both overcome the destructive forces of human rebellion, and the power of death and decay. Love in action has reversed the effects of human wickedness, and brought hope to victims and perpetrators alike.

As Paul wrote to his Roman friends, living at the heart of that godless and destructive empire, 'Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. 

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.' (Romans 5.2, 5)

Being loved by God puts everything else into perspective. It is love that fixes our brokenness, and tells us that in God's eyes we are worth it (not the Loreal advert!)

Today, we can bring this fixing power of God's love to one another. 

How about sending a text message or email to another Christian friend today, to encourage them to recall that they too are loved by God. It might make all the difference for them. Broken people like us need to be fixed!

Best wishes,

Richard