The Broken Road - The Process of Making Us Whole

The Broken Road

Mar. 1, 2006

The Process of Making Us Whole

"He wants the world to see all the steps

In the process of making us whole." --John Fischer

We've been reading a book called "Out of the Salt Shaker and into the World" by Rebecca Manley Pippert. Ms. Pippert says, "It's when I cover up (ironically, for 'God's reputation') and try to appear 'together', with no problems, that they can see only Becky."

"Evangelism involves taking people seriously, getting across to their island of concerns and needs, and then sharing Christ as Lord in the context of our natural living situations." (p. 30) This is the main idea of the book.

In the back of my mind, little thoughts keep popping up. Thoughts like, "What will the neighbors and non-Christian friends think of us. That we were too protective of dd? (you know, homeschooling and all) Will they think that the reason dd has gone astray is because we were too "strict" at home? I tend to want to cover up what dd is doing right now because of my fears of what they might think. I don't want our Christian "witness" to be tarnished.

In reality, God doesn't care about our "witness"--He cares about people. I'm realizing this as I read this book. We Christians are real people with real problems. If we cover up what is happening in our lives and how God is working through all these problems to make us into His image, then we rob our non-Christian friends and neighbors of seeing the mighty working of God in our lives. They may have some unrealistic picture of us that we "have it all together". When in reality, we are struggling just like they are, except we are trusting in God to work it out, because He is that kind of God.

If you look in the Bible of men that were examples of Godly men, we see all kinds of blemishes in their lives--murder, adultery, lying, deceit to name a few. King David committed adultery and murder. My husband pointed out that it was AFTER the baby was born that Nathan the prophet finally came to him and told the story that made David see his sin and finally repent. That was nearly a year later after David sinned. Did God wait because David wasn't ready to hear what He had to say? We want instant results--but God's timing is impeccable!

Dd is living in sin. We want to see changes in her NOW. But God's timing is right. We need to be patient and wait for God to work in her. In the meantime, our non-Christian neighbors and friends need to see us going through this struggle and see God at work in our lives.

With that in mind, the other day I shared about dd with our "adopted" grandparent neighbor friends. They have always been interested in our kids and what they're doing, but they're not believers. In the past, I've avoided sharing about dd because I was embarrassed. But the other day, not really knowing what to say, I plunged in and told them about her situation. They were sympathetic. And I ended by saying that "God is good"--a statement of belief that God was with us in this.

John Fischer's song says it so well. "We are the holy of Holies, don't hide the Source, don't hide the Source. We have His Spirit controlling..." Isn't this the essence of how God reveals Himself to those around us? We are different--not because we are "perfect and good"--but because we have the Source in us that allows us to live by in faith. It is He that is changing us into His Image. And He wants to be our non-Christian friends' source also. Every problem, every pain, every broken road is changing us as we allow Him to.

"Inside, a change is happening on the inside

And it makes no sense for me to hide

What I don't want you to see.

Come see

Everything that lies inside me

Cause amidst the mess I've made of me

You might see the Lord.

Cause He's in there moving

Got a knife and He's pruning

Cutting out the old man, bringing in the new

And it's foolish to fake it

So I'm letting Him take it