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Blog: Beans
Blog: Beans
I made a
pot of beans the other day. I did what my mom always does: wash beans, pick out
broken beans and tiny rocks that slip through the separating machine. I looked
at my pile of broken beans. Why do I take then out, I wondered. That could have
been one good bite. I thought of the hungry kids in the world who eat only a
cup of rice a week and dig through garbage to find scarps thrown away. They
wouldn't mind a bite of broken beans. Do I take them out just because my mom
did it or is there a deeper reason? I did take out the tiny bean shaped rock.
No one wants to crunch on that for obvious reasons.
I applied
this to my life and other situations I've seen. I don’t try to separate broken
people from me. I try to ease their brokenness. Even a friend of mine recently
said that was one of the gifts she sees in me. I've seen people cull the broken
people from their life for various reasons. They think they are justified in
doing so.
But, think
this way: Jesus never separated me because I was broken and in sin. He didn't
separate the woman at the well or call her a whore. He took on my sin and yours
and the world’s to become sin in my place(2 Cor 5:21). He is always ready to
receive me, sins and all, back to him. Separation from God is our choice. He
wants us with him.
So, I put
the broken beans back in my pot. As for the rock, Jesus did not come to condemn
the person, just the rocks (sin) in my life. God works in me through the Holy Spirit to
help me realize I need to remove the rocks in my life. Leaving them there hurts me
and others, too.
Embrace
broken people, but don’t embrace their faults. Guide them, accept them, love
them, forgive them—Just like Jesus did for you.
2 comments:
I love the 'bean thing'...'cause I'm cooking beans right now. My mom did like yours; I didn't find any broken ones this morning...! We are extremely blest that our Father doesn't toss us out when we crack or break. Thanks for 'spilling the beans'...as always your words are gems.
I feel like Jesus' blood is in all my cracks and broken places...thank the Lord for grace he lavishes on us!
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