By Marilyn Pritchard
With peeling paint and one leg loose, our old porch glider had seen better days. So when our neighbors offered us their used but perfectly serviceable glider, we decided to put our old one by the curb. It looked sad and forlorn sitting there, and I thought, “If someone handy wanted to fix it up, it would still make a nice addition to someone else’s patio. Why not put a sign on it: ‘Broken, but free’?”
As soon as the words came into my head, I realized—that’s what I am.
I entered this world with a God-sized hole in my heart, and as I grew up I heard messages that told me I wasn’t “enough”—not smart enough, not athletic enough, not pretty enough, not “good” enough. All these messages made the hole in my heart even bigger, and soon cracks started appearing around the edges. Basically, I was broken.
Then I met Jesus. He showed me that I was “enough” for Him. He accepted me just as I was, broken and flawed. The moment He entered my life, He set me free. Free from sin. Free from fear. Free from all those expectations I couldn’t live up to.
Jesus filled the hole in my heart, but I am still a work in progress. The cracks in my heart are still there, but His love shines through.
To put it in theological terms, the minute we ask Jesus into our heart, we are justified, a legal term that means “acquitted” (Acts 13:38-39). (I’ve also heard it explained as “just as if I never sinned.”) After that, and for the rest of our earthly lives, we are being sanctified, which is the process of becoming more like Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). We won’t be perfect, though, until we reach heaven, which is when we are glorified (1 Pet. 5:10).
This is what the Christian faith is all about. Faith simply means putting your trust in Jesus and entering into a relationship with Him. Acknowledging that you can never live up to His standards allows Him to come in and free you from the guilt of your sins. He will fill the hole in your heart, and then He can begin the process of repairing the cracks. Ultimately, though, it means you have eternity to get to know Him and to grow more like Him every day.
Do you want to know more about the Christian faith and what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ? We at Just Between Us (JBU) have been hoping you’d stop by! We’ve listed some resources here that should help you on your journey to take that first step of faith and to grow in your faith. If you’d like us to support you in prayer, please reach out on our prayer wall or contact us.