A broken, grateful heart

"The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps. 118:22-23)

The other day a good friend shared about an incredibly tragic encounter she had with extended family. Suffice it to say, I have never personally heard of such unremitting darkness and hostility towards God and the things of the Lord. It was if the Lord peeled back the tiniest layer of light to reveal a glimpse of how truly lost and desperate and evil our dark and dying world is apart from Christ. Such hopelessness, such depravity, such lovelessness, such emptiness--it was both heart-breaking and infuriating.

And for such a world, for such hateful and selfish and belligerent people, the Lord Jesus obediently, willingly, joyfully came and bled and died.

And such a one was I... no, apart from Christ, such a one am I. Lost, lonely, mean, self-centered, resentful, prideful, envious--you name it, that is the deep, dark, desperate pit from which the Lord Jesus rescued and redeemed each one of us.

After hearing my friend's horrific story, I wept and went to the Lord asking Him to forgive me for my unbroken, ungrateful heart. Such a dead, dark world and do I really care? Does my heart break for the ones for whom my Savior's heart was pierced and His body broken? Lord, I prayed, break my heart over the things, over the people, that break Your heart. For, if I really care, if my heart is broken over this lost world, then how can I help but share the incredible Good News of our Savior?

But secondly, I asked Him to forgive me for so often having an ungrateful heart when it comes to the enormity of the gift of salvation. Look what He has saved us from: unimaginable darkness and depravity and sin and eternal damnation. That is what I deserved. That is what we all deserved. "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." (Eph.2:4-5) We could never ever earn it or deserve it--only by His astounding, abundant, truly amazing grace can we be saved. Lord, give us grateful hearts that overflow every morning with the joyful knowledge that You have redeemed us and have given us another day to experience Your presence and goodness on this earth until that day You call us to our eternal heavenly home.

So today, will you ask God to give you a broken, grateful heart? Will you ask Him to give you a heart that breaks and then seeks out the lost to share the Truth in love? And will you ask Him to give you a heart that overflows with gratitude so that your thankfulness spills over to every aspect (whether good or bad) of your life and to all you meet? Thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord Jesus! To the Savior, who was broken but resurrected and now reigns at the right hand of God, be all the glory forever.