BROKEN

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn't put Humpty together again"

Remember that story? Almost all of us have felt like Humpty dumpty at one time or another!! Everything seeming to go O.K. and all of a sudden everything is broken, including us! This week has been exactly that kind for me. It has found be broken before God, asking for his Grace, seeking for his mercy. Have you ever been there?

If you are a Baseball fan you know the name of Ralph Branka, and you don't know him for his over 100 major league wins, or as one of the better pitchers of late 40's and early 50's, you know him for one thing: He was pitching in a playoff game for the National League title in 1951, It was the bottom of the 9th, his team ahead 5-3, 2 outs 2 men on base...if he gets the next man out, and they are National league champions, all the sacrifice and effort Branka put into his life for baseball would become worth it.....BUT, the pitch he threw was hit out of the ball park by Bobby Thompson, we know it as "The Shot heard around the world" Branka has never been allowed to forget that moment, whenever his name is mentioned, all the good pitches he threw are quickly forgotten, and one is remembered, the mistake he threw to Bobby Thompson.

In spite of all the positives, Branka was Fractured, broken, he had let everyone down, including himself, and it hurt deeply.....He knew what Humpty Dumpty felt like! We can all relate can't we?

There are broken people all over the place, and they are hurting, suffering, seemingly alone in their world of pain, not physical pain, or they could see a doctor, but emotional turmoil of knowing things may never be the same again. Some are reeling from self inflicted wounds, mistakes, errors in judgment and yes, sinful actions, which we know bring unwanted yet justified results.

Now to be honest with you, one thing that puzzles me is that at times when people sin, it seems like God's chastisement is immediate and certain, yet at other times it seems as if people get away with their sin! Asaph the Psalmist struggles with that reality in Psalm 73, a must read for those wondering why God does not bring judgment on sin as quickly as we would like on people that don’t know or follow Jesus.

The reality is that Sin brings brokenness in life, and we are all sinners, then we all know what it is like to deal with breaks in life. It may be when you got married, you figured you would have a fulfilling relationship, and for the most part you did, you love your wife, and your children, but that gal at the office caught your eye, at first it was just friendly chat, then a lunch, you called it business, and then.....well you know the rest of the story, now you are trying to pick up the pieces, you know what Humpty felt like....BROKEN.

Maybe you have spent your last years building a good testimony on the job, people know where you stood with Christ, and you were praying that God would use you to win your co-workers to Him, but then came argument with that person over you that gets under your skin. You’re not sure how it got so out of control, not even sure what you said, but it was bad enough to lose your job, and to blow that testimony you built up for so long, and you know what Humpty felt like....BROKEN.

The illustrations are endless, the results strikingly similar....hurt, pain, despair, and at times resignation. And praise God the answer is always the same…..Jesus….yes the gospel of Jesus is about putting people back together, the one thing that all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t do….THE KING OF KINGS PROMISES TO DO!