Broken Together

I was recently talking with someone very close to me who has moved away from “the faith”.  We were talking about belief and he stated that he cringes when Christian’s state they are working to be Christ-like.  He shared a work watercooler chat on this topic, and when asked, he let the person know they might not like what he had to say, but was encouraged so he continued (paraphrased with permission), “That if Christians believe that Jesus was God, then for them to be Christ-like is an impossible task, if God is God and we are human. That statement sets humans up for immediate failure and the best that humans can do is not to be Christ-like but the best they can in their human form.”  Happily, his input landed well at the watercooler.

There is truth to his statement.

God is God and we are mere humans being our imperfect selves. We are too often stumbling blind in this world making one error after another, bumping into one another, sometimes with a polite “excuse me” and other times unknowingly, even knowingly, hurting another. How to be Christ-like in a fallen world, in a human body?

Perhaps the best we can hope for is to be perfectly-imperfect, living by Christ’s commandments as best as we are able? Using our life energies, with prayer, His guidance, His love, directing our days. With a daily simple prayer, “God help me do your will today and all the days of my life.”

Casting Crown’s Broken Together illustrates a questioning of our humanness and how we can move past being broken to a place of togetherness in a broken state.  There is beauty in being broken together.  Just as in the Japanese method of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver or platinum, Kintsugi ("golden joinery”) highlights the break, bears witness to it, rejoices in it, to create something new and beautiful (and perhaps stronger.)

The concept of being “Broken Together” also makes me know that as I sit in worship, I am sitting with others who are just as broken as I am. We are “Broken Together” as we pray, sing, and take the broken communion bread into our mouths in remembrance of God’s greatest gift, the literal braking of His Son to change EVERYTHING.

“Broken Together”, broken bread, being human-like for God in an imperfectly perfect way is purely beautiful.

1.      When have you be your very best perfectly-imperfect for God?

2.      How do you feel about being “Broken Together”? What does it mean to you?

PS What? Wait, there is no reference bible verse!!?  Please read 2 Corinthians 4:1-12. How do these verses speak to you.  A vessel formed by God.