A friend recently told me of a conversation he had years ago with the Christian evangelist, Bruce Anderson. Speaking about a mutual acquaintance, who had entered a time of extreme brokenness in his life, Bruce commented "Now God can really use him!"
Recently I've been meeting with a man whose life is broken. He has, by his own admittance, brought much of it on himself. As we sat chatting in my church office, he wept openly, his heart breaking for himself and others involved in his life.
Having no tissues in the office, I had to nip downstairs and grab an industrial size roll of toilet paper from the mens loos, which for the next two hours my friend slowly unrolled, used and binned.
I had informed 2 of my fellow leaders that I would be meeting this man, and I emailed them to ask them to pray during that time.
As time went by, we both seemed to realize that we were sat in the 'pigsty' of the prodigal son. This was his moment to come to his senses, and find his way back to the Father who loves him.
We read Psalm 51, where David pours out his repentant heart to God. It finishes "A broken and contrite heart God will not despise!"
"Did God forgive David?" my friend asked.
"Yes," I responded, "though there were lifelong consequences, David was forgiven!"
It was one of those moments...
"Would you like to pray with me?"
"Yes please," he responded.
We had talked about the Cross, the place where God himself took our brokeness on himself, and I was about to share with him how he could come Jesus, hoping to tell him the "ABC," or "4 spiritual laws" of coming to Christ.
"Do I talk to God or Jesus," he asked. I told him that Jesus is God, and before I could even finish my sentence, he burst into the Kingdom, pouring his pain and hurt out to a Gracious Saviour, and simply asked Jesus to come in!
I prayed too, then ripped the toilet roll from his hands, my face too, now wet with tears.
Jesus used many images to describe the Kingdom, but right now now seem so meaningful as brokenness and bogroll!
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