Broken – Toni M. Babcock
Broken appliances sit idle until they’re fixed, but broken people are much more complicated. They’re not looking to be fixed — they’re looking to be loved. That’s where the healing begins.
As Christians in a fallen world, we tend to overlook this simple truth—preferring the broken be fixed some other way than love, because love requires things like sacrifice, acceptance, and forgiveness. We’re reluctant to admit it, but the truth is we prefer people would take the onus for their own misfortune, and fix themselves. Why should we allow them to complicate our lives? To get involved simply costs too much time and trouble and can be scary.
Jesus encountered such an individual unsettled in his mind about what his responsibility was to love. He was an expert in interpreting the Law of Moses, but it seems he knew something was missing in his heart. He initially asked Jesus how he could obtain eternal life, hoping to test Jesus on the topic. Jesus immediately turned the question around and tested him with His own question. “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied, “Do this and you will live.”
As Jesus gazed into his eyes, perhaps a sting of conviction washed over the man’s conscience. He proceeded to ask the Lord, “And who is my neighbor?” hoping to justify himself. Perhaps he thought he’d pass the test because his neighbors were like him; religious, well-taught, highly respected, and well-appointed. They deserved to be loved.
Of course, that’s not who Jesus was talking about and you can read the entire interesting story in Luke 10:25-37.
Some people are so beaten down in life, so robbed by the devil they can’t rise up without us. These too, are our neighbors.
Toni M. Babcock is author of The Stone Writer. Contact
