“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” – Romans 12:15
The Fall
Sticking with the puzzle theme (tis the season). If there is anything in the puzzle realm more frustrating than missing pieces (see the last post), it is seeing a 3000 piece puzzle on the floor. Scattered. Think of 52 pickup on steroids.
Tired of working on a puzzle on my living room floor (think aging knees and back), I decided to carry our massive puzzle, perhaps one third finished, into the kitchen to work on the table. Since we were building the puzzle on a quarter inch piece of plywood, moving it is fairly easy. Usually.
So, I picked up the plywood by the outside edges and slowly made my way around the couch and then into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, I simply had to lift the board over the captain’s chair at the head of the table and set it down on its new workstation. Unfortunately, as I was raising the board to clear the chair, the middle sagged and clipped the back of the chair. Yes, I saw the puzzle pieces flying through the air in slow motion before they came cascading down.
What did I have to show for hours of puzzle “work”? I believe the above picture says it pretty well. Not only was the puzzle far from resembling the picture on the box cover, it didn’t even look like the puzzle of five minutes prior!!
With a puzzle omelet on the kitchen floor, we found ourselves at a crossroad of sorts. Or perhaps better yet, a moment of truth. Now what? Seeing her investment of time scattered across the kitchen floor, my wife decided it was time to put the puzzle back in the box and move on to a different (read less complicated) puzzle. Being the person responsible for the puzzle scattered across the kitchen floor, I wasn’t ready to acquiesce. Fortunately, I am six days her elder, and hence could play the senior card. Which means we compromised!!
The puzzle is now being resumed in my man cave in the basement. And would you believe, one of the border pieces is now missing?!
Shattered Portrait
Seeing those puzzle pieces strewn across the floor reminded me of a prayer “my” pastor prayed years ago in a deacon’s meeting. As a deacon board, we had been discussing the sad situation of a young family in our church that was devastated by the marital infidelity of one of the parents. There was no insulating ourselves from the tragedy. When one member of the body hurts, we all hurt (1 Cor. 12:26).
Responding to the pain of others isn’t always (if ever) easy. Words can seem so shallow, or even condescending, if we haven’t had the same experience. Let’s be honest, sometimes there just aren’t any words (at the moment)!! Besides, what if our desire to reach out isn’t reciprocated with a desire to be reached? At least not now! Perhaps we will be misunderstood. How do we let those hurting know we care without overwhelming them? They need our love, but they also want their privacy.
(Off of the soap box and back to the deacon’s meeting) Sorry.
When we are faced with a moment of truth, it is always wise to pray, so we did. In the midst of our confusion and heightened emotion levels, our pastor summed up the situation so well in his prayer. He prayed for healing for this family whose family portrait was now fractured. Like the puzzle on the floor, it no longer looked like it did previously. The beautiful picture of this family was now seen through shattered glass. Unfortunately, broken glass does more than mar the image; it scars. Often for life.
Fallen Pieces
Moments of truth. We have all had them. Times in our life when the pieces are scattered. Picking them up may seem inundating if not impossible. Some of them may never be accounted for. At least not in this lifetime.
Testing times. Times in our lives when the glass is shattered. They may vary in severity. They may vary in duration. But their coming is a certainty.
Inventory time. I am not sure if life’s trials so much test what we have as expose what we lack. While you ponder that, let me ask you one question: How is your autonomy?
While we may have little or no control over the tests that come our way, we are told how we should respond as a body. Even though I dropped the puzzle, my wife and son who were building it with me, were on their hands and knees picking it up with me.
Isn’t that a beautiful picture of the Christian life?
Living Love
When God created Adam and Eve, He made them His image bearers. When they fell, sin marred that image. If I may use the expression, God’s family portrait was shattered. Since humanity is incapable of restoring the picture, God sent His Son in the form of a man to do so.
As a teacher Christ told us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind. And the second greatest is to love our neighbors as ourselves. And then shortly before His death on the cross He gave His disciples a new commandment, to love one another as He had loved them.
When He performed His first miracle, Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding. Certainly, He rejoiced with those who rejoiced. But at the grave of Lazarus, we have a more poignant picture of our Suffering Servant. Jesus wept. God in flesh and blood shedding tears. The Head of the body, sharing our pain.
Last month, we attended the funeral of a stillborn infant, and celebrated our son’s birthday in a matter of hours. That day could serve as a microcosm of our lives. Certainly, there is no lack of opportunity for rejoicing and weeping with others. The real issue, is how do we respond when the opportunities arise?
Martyn Lloyd Jones once said, “There is no more thorough test of our profession of the Christian faith than just this ability to feel with other Christians.”
More importantly, Jesus said:
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35
May we heed the words of our Savior who will forever wear the scars from restoring the family.