BROKEN LIVES... Sunday

Devotional for 10/11/15

Our lives are a tangled, broken mess like underbrush in the woods on the edge of a lake.  The waters lapping at the shoreline are sometimes gentle and quiet.  But now and then our lives are stirred up by other people like speed boats passing by on the lake.  Or the waters are rippled by us and our own sinful actions, only to calm again in the quiet of the woods - though never totally silent.  

Then when the sun breaks thru a thin layer of clouds, it casts a light in the shadows, showing us God's grace amidst the broken branches, the fallen tree, the rotting leaves.  Across our broken and rotten lives His light shines, dancing across our pain.  We confess to him our wayward paths, and He forgives us because of the sacrifice of his Son on the broken tree of the cross. His Son-shine refreshes us and gives us strength to carry on and to share His love with others.  

But how can we shine to others if we cannot straighten out our lives?  As much as we try to "clear the tangled underbrush" it is never totally clean on the dirt floor of those woods.  And how can we forgive ourselves or forgive each other for our imperfections?  On the other hand, how can we NOT forgive, if God who is perfect and just, CAN forgive us no matter what we or others have done that may haunt us.  We must always remember that we are not doing this alone, but with God's power and help.  And the light that we shine to others is not our own, but a reflection of God's light.  When we falter and get tripped up by the tangled roots of our sinful lives, God is there always and forever to forgive us and help us stand again.  

Psalm 51:17 (ESV)  "... A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Dear Father in heaven, creator of the earth and all that is in it, thank you for the gift of life here and in eternity.  Forgive me where I have done wrong in my thoughts, words and deeds.  Help me to clear away the tangled web of sin, deception, and unforgiveness of myself and others.  Continue to forgive me when in my humanness I stumble and fall again.  Pick me up and brush off the dirt so I may continue to reflect your light to the world.  Help me to walk in your path for your glory as I serve you and witness to your merciful forgiveness for all.    In Jesus' name,  Amen.

written by Jan Andersen