When a person becomes a parent, I believe that God is able to teach them things so much more effectively. After all, God is our Father and we are His children. As we are raising our own kids, the parallels and analogies to our relationship with God pop up on a daily basis. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about Brokenness. Particularly as it relates to the passage in Isaiah 51:
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
Before we can truly worship God, we have to realize that there are some habits and ways about us that get in the way. Now I'm not saying that we can't approach God just as we are with all of our struggles and problems- quite the opposite. God wants surrender, not perfection. But it's important to understand that we are limited by our pride, our rejection of God's authority, and our stubbornness.
My kids are 2 and 4. During my first 4 years of parenting, I have come to realize that there are a lot of inherent habits in children that need to be broken and also a lot of learned habits that need to be changed. From not wanting to sleep at night, to picking noses, to refusing to use the potty...the list goes on and on. As a parent, it is my responsibility to recognize habits that need to change and begin to teach my children better habits. Sometimes the habits are easy to change, but other habits die slowly. It takes constant vigilance on my part as a mom as well as complete receptiveness and cooperation on the part of my child to break these habits. Sometimes, I have to use strong disciplinary measures when my children are not willing to submit to my authority or are in total rebellion against changes I see as necessary. Other times, I can gently, lovingly model correct behavior for them and they instantly want to emulate that behavior. It takes a mixed bag of methods to change habits as a parent. It takes a great deal of patience and persistence on both my part and the part of my children. And in the end, when they are purposed, effective, God-loving adults, I hope they can look back and say, "Mom, thanks for not giving up on me."
The beautiful correlation is that God is very much doing the same things in our lives, even as adults. We are loaded down with junk in our lives that He lovingly, and sometimes forcefully wants to chip away. He wants to strip down all the "sin that entangles" and free us from ourselves. He wants us to submit to His authority because He knows that His way is the best way possible. He wants our cooperation, to partner with us by the gift of His Holy Spirit, constantly guiding us in the direction we should go. To resist that guidance is just like one of my kids giving me that defiant look that says "No way am I going to do what you are telling me- I don't want to! I want to do this BY MYSELF!" And what a shame that is, both when our kids do that to us parents and also when we do that to God. As a parent, I know what's best. As our Father, God knows best. And brokenness is best. My favorite part of correcting my children is when they realize the error of their ways and have that look of understanding on their faces. Sometimes they walk, but other times they run into my arms. And I hold them. And they say they love me and that they're sorry they were wrong. And then we can begin anew, strengthened by the shared experience and changed for the better. I like to think that's God's favorite part of us giving in to brokenness as well- when we run to Him, with the look of understanding on our faces, when we cry out to Him in honest apology and promise to choose a better way with His divine leading. I like to think He holds us and cherishes those times just like I do with my own children.
We all need to think about where we are in our relationship with God, our Father. We all need to thank Him for never giving up on us. In times that I fail as an earthly parent, I always take comfort in knowing that God, my heavenly Father cannot and will not fail. Ever. He will always lead me and love me perfectly. We need to give up on our own stubborn ways and surrender- trading our opposition and pride for a willing spirit of cooperation. We all need to go deeper and find the beauty of brokenness. When we do these things, our lives begin to take on more significance and our hearts are more in line with what God is doing right here, right now on this earth. We'll worship more deeply, love others more fully, and most importantly, live a life pleasing to God. So this week, I encourage you to think, as I have been, about what it means to be broken and, if you're brave enough, tell God that you want to cooperate with His plan for brokenness in your life. It may not be an entirely pleasant experience, but in the end, you'll find yourself embraced by our heavenly Father and know that He does indeed make all things work together for our good.
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