Who has not had a child run playfully through the house and crash into something, leaving it broken on the floor? Yet, no matter how much effort is put into reassembling that broken vase or lamp, no matter how well pieced together that crystal bowl is, the damage remains.
The next time the broken object is touched or moved, it will fall apart once more.
There is only one solution, and that is to have the broken item carefully repaired by an expert of the highest skill. Then and only then will it become useful once again.
People are exactly the same. In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus talks about the man who has an unclean spirit that has been cast out. No matter how carefully the man puts his broken life back together again, if he does not allow the master craftsman to repair the damage that has been done, he is still a broken man. All it will take is a touch of the devil to shatter him once again.
Jesus tells us the unclean spirit will wander the face of the earth, and finding no rest, will return to the man. If it finds him empty (unrepaired), it will gather seven spirits even wickeder than itself, and the man will be worse off than before.
How can we prevent this from happening to us? We must read God’s Word, spend time in prayer with him, and worship with fellow believers. Each verse we read repairs a crack in our broken selves. Each prayer we pray bonds a damaged joint back together once again. Each believer we fellowship with becomes a cohesive layer of strength that will smooth the cracks that were once our flaws, until we are stronger than we were before.
Then, when the evil one returns to us, hoping to find a place of rest, we will be filled with the presence of Jesus, and the devil will be turned away by the power of the cross.
When we let Jesus fill up our lives, he repairs the damage sin has done to us, and there is no room left for the devil to get inside.
Copyright © 2013 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.H.15.13b.vp
Originally Published: 10-14-13