Broken

1/22/16                                      Ken                                 22
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"  That's always been good advice for me, because trying to fix a minor problem often leads to creating a major one.  But what about on a spiritual level?  The rise of religious extremism is leading many people to just shrug their shoulders, assume the best when it comes to questions about eternity, and say "If it ain't broke don't fix it!"  That was the attitude a young man named Ken had when we reached out to him at a mall.  He said he never thinks about heaven or life after death, so I assumed he didn't have much exposure to religion.  Yet later on he said he attends church every week!  How is it that he doesn't think about eternal life?  Ken had the same "if it ain't broke…" attitude that so many people have.  He sees himself as a good, church-going person and assumes he has a good relationship with God and will have one for eternity.  Yet when asked why he believes he will go to heaven, he said "Well, I may sin now and then, but God knows my heart and He knows I am basically a good person."  To fix the broken relationship with God caused by his sin, he needs faith in Jesus, not his good works.  But Ken has convinced himself that his relationship with God is not broken.  He needs to believe he has the disease before he is interested in the cure.  I began to try to help him see his need for forgiveness by having him judge himself by the standard of some of the Ten Commandments and taking responsibility for breaking them.  But Ken responded by saying "God forgives, He doesn't judge my sin."  Jesus' sacrifice on the cross means nothing to him because he trivializes his sin and trivializes God's holiness.  Jesus came "to proclaim good news to the poor…to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."  He came for broken people.  And only those who know and are willing to admit they are broken can be fixed.