Reconciled to wholeness

“and when He had given thanks, He broke [the bread] and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you.” 1 Corinthians 11:24 We’ve all seen the sign, “You break it, you take it!” on the wall in fine china shops or pottery stores, implying that if you bump over an item of merchandise, you pay for it. Well, there was this shop in town that stocked beautiful vases and glass finery.

One day a man entered the shop to browse its shelves. He wasn’t a rich man. In fact, he was a pauper, a man of low means. He had no way of paying for any of the items in that shop. Yet he gazed upon the splendor of a mink vase in the hope that one day he might be able to acquire it. With that, he turned to leave. As he did, his elbow caught the rim of the vase. Crash! It was in pieces.

“Hey!” yelled the storekeeper, “you there, that vase was priceless. You will have to cover its loss!”

“But… I’m so sorry,” said the man, “I… I could never pay for my transgression.”

A wealthy, elegant man in the next aisle heard the commotion and came over. He looked with compassion at the pauper as he trembled before the storekeeper. He could see that he was unable to redeem himself; that he did not have the means to reconcile his fault.

“Here, said the rich man gathering up the pieces of the priceless vase. I will pay the price.”

God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I am that pauper who broke the vase. I had no means to reconcile my transgressions. My life was in pieces. I was separated from the righteousness of God by my transgression. But God loved me so much that he sent his only son – his righteous graceful son – into the world to pay the price for my sin. He was wounded for my transgressions and crushed for my iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought me peace. His broken body paid the price for my broken pieces.

How about you?