HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART?

Do you remember the song, "How can you mend a broken heart?" The song asks a good question, but doesn't give an answer. I presided over a Memorial service yesterday--for a 30 year old man who took his own life. There were some broken hearts in the congregation. The young man’s grandfather was in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery when the family got the news of the death. The doctors had used their training and skills to mend his "broken" heart, but that’s not the kind of broken heart the Bee Gees sung about. That kind of broken heart is much harder to mend.

The question is not so much HOW can you mend a broken heart, but rather WHO can mend a broken heart. There is only one who is qualified to do that--our Lord Jesus Christ. He came for that very purpose. All "broken-heartedness" is the result of sin. It can be traced back to the sin of Adam and Eve. And wrong sinful choices in our lives, and the lives of others, leads to much "broken-heartedness." The Lord Jesus was sent from heaven to heal broken hearts. He experienced a broken heart himself. He "who knew no sin" was made "to be sin" on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). And He cried out from the cross, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46).

But He rose victorious over sin and death. He grants eternal life to those who place their trust in Him. They experience His forgiveness and are made to be new creatures in Christ. His indwelling presence brings peace, and joy, and hope to their hearts. And He begins His heart mending process. Its a life long work. Sin is forgiven, freedom from sin progresses, until one day, in His presence--sin is no more. Praise God that there is someone to whom we can go who understands all that we go through, and has answers for the trials and sorrows that we face.

Hebrews 4:15-16, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."

Pastor Jerry