Broken but Loved

Broken but Loved

Broken but loved, this ornament is a gift from my son đź’™. It represents his love to me. But alas, the tail broke off some time ago. I glued it back on, but later it broke off again. Then it sat in a drawer for several years, until yesterday I got it out and glued it back together again. You can see where it broke, but I put it back out where it can remind me daily of my son who I love.

We are all like this ornamental bird, broken but loved. God our Father and Creator loved each one of us from the beginning. No one is perfect. We’re all broken. But he sent Jesus to redeem us and restore us to himself.

Romans 3:23-24 (The Amplified Bible) says: Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives, all are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus.

I’m so glad God loves me that much. In spite of my foibles, big mistakes, stupidity, brokenness and shame, he loves me. Jesus has redeemed us, and by faith in him we are restored to a right standing with God.

I wish I could undo the stupid things I’ve done, but I can’t. Yet God loves me anyway. And you too. Broken but loved.

Mercy

The Mercy Seat

You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the testimony [the ten commandments] that I will give you. Exodus 25:21

It strikes me that the mercy seat was placed above the 10 commandments.

The 10 commandments (found in Exodus chapter 20) are very good–given from God who loves us and wants us to live in a good way. But we continually fail to live up to even those few commandments.

So God, in his love for us, puts the mercy seat above the commandments. He goes on to say that at the mercy seat he will meet with us, and speak intimately with us.

Who wouldn’t want to sit there on that seat between two angelic golden cherubim spreading their wings of protection overhead, with God sitting next to us and speaking intimately with us.

Wow! From the beginning God showed his understanding, love and mercy for us people who he created. We are so in need of mercy all the time. Thank you so much God!