Brokenness

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Scripture
 
Luke 20:18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

Observation

As Jesus completes the parable of the wicked tenets he reminds them of the cornerstone. This is the stone that the builders rejected but now he brings in some new meaning and understanding. For those who submit to Jesus, for those who will fall upon him, they will be broken by him. This is a breaking in a good sense. They will be broken of self-centeredness and all that it produces in their lives. Shattered will be the selfish motivations which drive life.

For those who reject the cornerstone of Jesus Christ, and do not submit, the weight of his Messiahship will eventually fall upon them.  It’s not just about rejection but also about those who actively engage against the Messiah. Those who hate him and persecute his followers will be ground to powder. The imagery speaks powerfully; ground to powder and blown away by the wind as if they had never existed. So powerful is the cornerstone which either will help shape us in brokenness or will grind us to powder.

Application

None of us likes to be broken. To have our heart shattered because of experiences is deeply painful. The moments when friends or loved ones disappoint us can create pain in the deepest spaces of our lives. However, it’s in those broken spaces that we can learn to stand on the Cornerstone. Jesus, the one who was rejected by the world, takes our brokenness and mends our hearts with his holy love. It is in the place of our wounds that his healing ointment can be applied. The wounds become filled with holy love and the end result is greater than that at the beginning. Yes, we are broken to pieces by experiences, and quite possibly experiences brought by falling on the stone. Yet, if we don’t experience brokenness, we could never experience the holy healing of God’s love. Jesus knew that brokenness and humility were necessary for the Cornerstone to actually be the cornerstone of the kingdom.

We will all be shaped by the Stone, in one way or another. Either we will fall in submission onto the Stone and allow Jesus to break and heal us, or we will eventually be crushed — ground to powder. Jesus is the Cornerstone of the kingdom and every person will be confronted with his reality. What will we do with the Stone?

Prayer

Lord, may I live in continual submission and in a posture of falling upon your Stone. Amen.


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