“the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 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 2:16-17
If you look around your church and see a bunch of people who are clean cut, well dressed, and living like they have it all together you probably have a problem.
Throughout his time on earth Jesus clearly prioritized being with people who knew their brokenness and struggle. A Jesus-shaped community isn’t one where everyone has their stuff all together. Quite the opposite.
Brokenness is essential to Gospel community
Thanks to sin, we’re all broken. We all have struggles and hurts that we need Jesus to heal. As Abigail Van Buren famously said, ‘The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.’
If when your community/church gathers and you look around the room and see an overwhelming amount of struggle, you’re doing something right. You’re creating a community where the gracious message of the Gospel is freeing people to reveal their weakness and pain, and it is in exactly that kind of community that God loves to show up. After all;
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 35:18
And
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:17
The false triumphalism of our Jesus-helps-me-keep-it-all-together middle-class Christianity in most of America is, I believe, a hindrance to Gospel community and the power of God moving.
The reality is this – when we come together in need of Jesus because of our weakness, sin, and struggle, God shows up with gracious power to strengthen, forgive, and empower.
Brokenness is key of power in Gospel Community
The Apostle Paul understood this strange reality; it is when we are weak and broken that God’s power is most active. He wrote to the Corinthians that God declares, “ my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9) and described himself and other followers of Christ as fragile “jars of clay (4:7).
Do you want to see spiritual power in your church? Embrace brokenness.
Brokenness is restored in Gospel Community
Jesus is always moved by compassion when the hurting and broken call out to him. He always restores.
It might be instantly, like the numerous cases of miraculous healing in the New Testament and many testimonies since the time of Jesus. Or it might be a process of slow maturity and discovering freedom. Regardless of the length of time, Jesus always restores what is broken to wholeness.
So don’t be disappointed when you look around the room and see a single mom struggling to make ends meet and barely able to parent her kids, a couple whose marriage is about to fall apart, a 20-something guy who can’t seem to get his life together, and people seemingly stuck in anxiety and depression. Instead, get excited! Jesus is near because he loves to restore the broken.
Bring your brokenness together before him. Read His word and let it speak to you. Pray over each other for healing and power. Then watch with anticipation for the miraculous work that God will do to cultivate Gospel community in your midst.
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