Brokenness: Cassie Pattillo

Lately, our world’s brokenness has deeply burdened my heart. The murdering of pre-born babies and the sexual exploitation of women are celebrated. Natural disasters rip through homes. Sadly, I also don’t have to look outside my home to see brokenness. I battle my flesh and struggle with selfishness daily. 

This brokenness makes us ask, “Why?” We wonder how to respond. Thankfully, our good Father doesn’t leave us without answers.

The “why” is answered in Genesis 3. In creation, God intended everything to be good with no brokenness (Gen.1-2). When Adam and Eve sinned (Gen. 3:6), everything changed. Simply, the “why” of brokenness is the Fall. Now, we’re born sinners, with our natural bent being rebellion against God. The Fall also affected creation, and it groans, eagerly waiting restoration (Rom. 18:19-23). Truly, the effects of the Fall are all around us, from broken cars to broken relationships. It’s as if the world constantly screams, “Things aren’t supposed to be this way,” and indeed, it’s not. 

Yes, this brokenness is grievous. However, praise God he doesn’t leave us there! In Genesis 3:15, he promised Christ, who redeems us. In Christ, we’re rescued from our biggest problem, our sin, but we know far too well that being saved from sin doesn’t exempt us from living in this fallen world. So, this begs the question, how do we believers respond? Thankfully, Scripture speaks to this.

Mourn the brokenness.

Even though we have the hope of Christ, the brokenness is still painful, and our hearts break. First, our hearts should mourn our own sin and be moved to repentance, but we can also grieve the other effects of the Fall. Grief isn’t wrong. In fact, when our Christian brothers and sisters weep, Scripture commands us to weep alongside them (Rom. 12:15). We also see Jesus weep at the death of his friend (Jn. 11:35). Rightful mourning that things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be is okay. However, we must be watchful that mourning doesn’t turn to bitterness or complaining. In New Morning Mercies, Paul Tripp says, “If you mourn the fallenness of your world rather than curse its difficulties, you know that grace has visited you.” Friends, grace has visited us, so we don’t despair. We don’t grow bitter or complain. We acknowledge, with tear filled eyes and heavy hearts, the world isn’t the way it was supposed to be, and then we walk forward in faith.

Live as elect exiles.

Many effects of the Fall are things like the brokenness of our culture. The world’s clear rebellion against protecting life, gender, and marriage is heartbreaking. When this is the brokenness we grieve, we remember we’re “elect exiles” (1 Pet. 1:1). This world isn’t where our true citizenship lies (Phil. 3:20). Like the Israelites were strangers in a foreign land during their exile, we’re strangers in here too. This means we’ll be burdened over things our world isn’t. It means our lives and beliefs will be very different than the world’s. If they’re not, we should take pause and evaluate if we’re aligned with Scripture. Also, we shouldn’t be surprised when the world disagrees with us. We should expect push back, and even persecution (Matt. 10:16-24).

Remember, every person is an image bearer (Gen. 1:26-28).

Each person we engage is either a brother or sister in Christ or a lost person who needs him. With fellow believers in Christ, we must be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit, despite brokenness (Eph. 4:3). We must show the world we’re Christ’s disciples by how we love one another, even in times of tragedy and disagreement (Jn. 13:35). On the other hand, when we’re angered by brokenness caused by the lost, we must remember their need for Christ. Things like the pro-choice movement all boil down to heart issues. We can’t expect the lost to act saved, because they’re without the Spirit. However, we must be urgent to compassionately share the Gospel, so all image bearers may be reconciled to God.

Preach the Gospel.

Ultimately, this is the best thing to do in the face of brokenness. We preach the Gospel to ourselves when our own sin weighs heavy. We remember the promise of Romans 8:1, that we’re not condemned. We repent and walk forward in the grace of Jesus. We preach the Gospel to sisters in Christ in the midst of trials. When they’re weary, we come alongside them and remind them of the hope we have in Christ. And of course, we preach the Gospel to our neighbors, family members, classmates, and co-workers who don’t know Christ. We use each fallen moment to point to the only One who can redeem us from them, Jesus.

Dear sisters, our world is broken. There’s no way to sugar coat that. However, we must view this brokenness through a Gospel lens. We must, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Rom. 12:12). We’re joyful as we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, patient as we await restoration when we’ll no longer have effects of the Fall, and prayerful that God will strengthen us to live for him and increase his Kingdom for his glory.

Cassie is a student pastor’s wife, mom to two energetic boys, and hopeful adoptive mom to their daughter, growing in their hearts from India. She’s passionate about biblical literacy, and writing and teaching about Scripture. She’s also a big fan of slow mornings with a cup of coffee, a good book on the beach, and Gamecock football. She loves giving Gospel-centered encouragement through writing, which you can find on her blog, Diaries of a Daughter.