“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, do not despise you” (Psalm 51:17).
Whether we have a “broken and broken heart” is one of the main factors in our readiness to accept the gospel. If, as the scriptures teach, the gospel is about the forgiveness of our sins, we will not hear it if we do not believe that sin is a problem for us. It is “godly sorrow” that brings us in touch with our need of the grace available in Christ, and while suffering for our sins is not pleasant, it is an experience that opens us to the gospel.
But divine sorrow is an experience that not everyone has. As a result, the gospel will seem like another “religion” in the world – another system of social morality and personal well-being. And seen this way, the gospel may not compare very favorably with the humanistic psychology and social ethics we have been used to so far. The lives we have lived together in this world may not be perfect in every respect, but they are very good, at least for many of us. In the absence of the sorrow that comes from seeing our sins realistically, the gospel will seem foolish and unnecessary. Jesus Christ is the answer to questions we aren’t even asking.
But a broken and repentant heart changes all that. “And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner… began to wet (Jesus’) feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with perfume… And she said to Him, ‘Your sins are forgiven you'” (Luke 7:37, 38, 48).
So is there no joy in the gospel of Christ? Yes, more happiness than this cannot be found anywhere else. But here’s the problem: This greater happiness is only available when we accept the loss of our smaller joys, especially self-reliance and pride. As long as we are content to believe that we are doing all right – and that it is in the power of science and psychology to solve all the remaining problems – we will cut ourselves off from the highest happiness of all: reconciliation with the God who created us. Ironically, only a broken and repentant heart is in a position to receive the joy that man was created to experience.
“Christianity is certainly not despair; on the contrary, it is good news – for the despairing; but it is certainly not good news for the frivolous, because it first of all wants to make them serious” (Soren Kierkegaard).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
