Broken & Free

IMG_5114

Hey guys!

I had the privilege of guest blogging for one of my absolute favorite blogs, Beauty In Christ, this past weekend.

When Emily approached me to guest blog on her site, I was absolutely honored. I have so loved getting to know this beautiful warrior through her blog posts and I honestly feel like I know her heart. Her love for our Creator radiates through her words and beams from her gorgeous smile. So, thank you, Emily, for the pleasure of writing on your site!

Be sure to hop on over to Beauty In Christ, check out her book, and say hi to Em! 🙂

So anyways, let’s jump right in.

IMG_9110

“I’m too broken.”

How many times have we thought that? “I’m too messed up. Too far gone. Hopeless. What I’ve done is beyond the point of forgiveness. I’m too dirty. If people were to see the real me, they’d hate me and never forgive me. I’m too broken.”

IMG_9129

Maybe some of you are feeling stuck in that place. I know I was stuck there for a long, long time: Not feeling like I deserved forgiveness. Feeling too dirty and guilty to be loved.

IMG_0900

Here’s what helped me:

There’s a story in the Bible of the woman caught in adultery. Many people believe this woman was Mary Magdalene, but it never actually identifies the woman’s identity. And I kind of like that, because it allows me to see myself as this woman.

1398202063696

Anyway, in John:8, a woman gets caught in the act of adultery. The penalty for this crime was being stoned to death.

Let me say that again: they would throw rocks at her until she died.

grown-up-baby-quotes-1_o_2172559

I know. Barbaric, right?!

Anyway…this woman had been caught in some random man’s bed. She was guilty. Dirty. A prostitute. She was, in every sense of the word, broken.

But then Jesus comes on the scene. Here is this woman at court, in front of the men who will stone her to death, and He says, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And with that, they all turned around and left.

Then Jesus was left alone with the woman.

So Jesus picked up the woman from the ground and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus replied, “Then, neither do I condemn you. Go now, and leave your life of sin.”

This is such a comforting image, of Jesus, stooping down to pick up the broken, guilty woman.

IMG_4553

But to really understand this passage, we have to know what “condemn” truly means. I never really understood its meaning growing up, and it wasn’t until I learned the definition that this story really spoke to me.

Condemn means: to express an unfavorable judgement on; indicate strong disapproval of; to pronounce to be guilty; sentence to punishment; to declare incurable.

 

To declare incurable.

How many times have you or I thought that our eating disorder is simply incurable. That my past makes me incurable. Hopeless. A lost cause. That I will never be able to overcome this despair?

I see myself so much in this woman. Here I was, broken. I was a shell of a person: dirty, outcast, guilty. I was lifeless, and just entrenched in my anorexia. I was lying to everyone I loved. I was killing my body. I was so self-centered that I was driving God out of the picture. I was prideful, vain, deceitful. I was harboring absolute hatred for myself – I hated the creation of God: me. I was the picture of brokenness. I was dirty. I did not deserve to even touch the sandals of the Lord. I felt unworthy to even come before God in prayer. I couldn’t look Him in the face. I was too broken.

monica-bellucci-passion-of-christ

“I do not condemn you.”

That’s what Jesus said to this woman who was just as broken and dirty as I was. She was caught in adultery. A prostitute. She was guilty. Unclean. Just like me.

“I do not condemn you.”

I do not declare you incurable. I don’t judge you as guilty. I don’t sentence you to punishment.

Jesus responded to this woman with love. He picked her up off the ground, saved her life, affirmed her, and set her free from her past. 

He didn’t say, “I’m not going to judge you right now, but just don’t come back, ‘cuz tomorrow it’ll be a different story.” It wasn’t, “Oh, you’re catching me on a good day…I’ll give you a free pass..today.” No, it was, “I don’t condemn you.”

Period.

IMG_2879

And then, here’s the kicker: He said: “Go, and leave your life of sin.”

It was not, “I’m not condemning you right now, but you’re going to have to carry your past around with you as a burden for ever. You’re going to have this terrible shadow follow you around from now on.” No. He set her free. “Go, and leave your life of sin.” He picked her up from the dust. ‘Leave the past in the past — leave it in the dust, and be free.’

IMG_2903

There is nothing that is too dirty for Jesus. There is nothing in your past that would have made Jesus go, “Ohhh, she’s guilty of that?…Stone away!” Nope. Nothing. And you know why?

The Cross.

Why did Jesus not condemn this woman? I found myself asking that. Why not? She was guilty. Why was she the exception to the law? Surely, I wouldn’t have been so lucky. Jesus wouldn’t have saved me if he saw me down on the ground. Mary Magdalene must have been really pretty, or something.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

And it boils down to this last thing: The Cross.

The Cross stands for two things: Love and Condemnation.

You’re scratching your head. “Love, I get. But condemnation?” But just stay with me for 2 more minutes, I promise this comes full circle.

1) LOVE : The Cross is Love. The love that Jesus would die on a cross for you. For me. So that we could get to Heaven and live forever with Him in eternity.

But why? We hear that all the time. Why? How exactly? Why’d He have to die? I get that it’s a grand gesture, but why? And it has to do with this last thing:

2) CONDEMNATION :

John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Let’s go back for a second to the definition of condemnation. To condemn is to pronounce to be guilty, to sentence to punishment, to declare incurable.

We are guilty. We all have things that we’re guilty of. Just off the top of my head for myself personally…lying, gossiping, cheating, my eating disorder, vanity, judging, stealing, idolatry. WE ARE ALL DIRTY, BROKEN, UNCLEAN, PEOPLE. We are all that woman on the ground, caught in adultery. We are all guilty.

IMG_0159

We are all deserving of condemnation. We all deserve punishment for all of the shitty things we do. For our lies. For our hurtful comments. For our eating disorder. We deserve to be condemned.

But…

JESUS WAS CONDEMNED FOR US.

 

That was the point of the cross. That was the entire reason why Jesus died: so that WE would not have to endure the punishment that we so deserve. Jesus endured it for us. For me. For you. That’s how great His love is for you and me. That’s how much He cares for you and me: that He would take the punishment for our guilt: for my lies, for my deception, for my eating disorder. He endured the punishment so that I don’t have to.

He doesn’t condemn us, because He was condemned for us. 

That’s why Jesus picked up the adulterous woman from the dirt and set her free: because He already paid the price for her dirtiness and her adultery. And that’s why he picks you and me up off the ground: because He already paid the price of our eating disorder.

We are all broken and hurting individuals. We all have pain and imperfections. We are all that woman in the dirt. We don’t have to wear a mask to cover that up. We don’t have to pretend that we’ve got it all together. We have nothing to hide, because Jesus already paid the price for everything we’re hiding behind the mask – for everything we’re covering up when we say, “I’m fine.”

IMG_8866

You don’t have to be fine. The adulterous woman wasn’t fine. And look what happened to her. She showed her face to Jesus, and He set her free. She reached to touch the feet of Jesus — she took off her mask and exposed her vulnerabilities — and He set her free. He did not condemn her. He did not declare her incurable. He set her free.
adulterous-woman-mary-magdelene-jesus

That’s what He wants to do for you. He wants you to reach out to Him, so that He can affirm you and set you free from ED.

“Then neither do I condemn you. Go, and leave your life of sin.”

IMG_8440

←
→

52 responses to “Broken & Free”

  7. A wonderfully written post regarding the power of forgiveness! So often we remember to forgive others…but neglect forgoing ourselves. Praise be HE never does! Thank you for ‘gifting’ us with this powerful reminder. “Your sins are forgiven….”
    Blessings!

    Reply

  9. Okay I must confess that this is awesome. Seriously awesome. Your presentation is off the charts. God bless your heart. Here’s a funny thought, Jesus who was made celebrity judge got rid of the jury (law) so He could make perfect his will (love) in her life. #iLoveDLord again, God bless

    Reply

  13. As usual, you have written another great post 🙂 and I promise to visit that one other site, you have guided your readers too 🙂 That whole story about love and condemnation and the situation regarding the woman and Jesus was as beautifully written as is all your stuff 🙂 In fact, the way you descibe love and condemnation is exactly how I would describe it 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂

    Reply

  15. I’m think that I’m finally figuring out what that “made in his image” line is about. It’s that our bodies work best when they are used to express love.
    Though incredibly shy, I was in play production in high school. At the cast party, I was standing by the patio fire pit, looking into the pool, and a girl came up and put her arm around my waist for half an hour. I didn’t even know who she was. Later, one of my female friends came and asked me why I was standing with her, and I said that she just put her arm around me.
    When I learned later that she was the class slut, it didn’t change anything. I just kept on wondering what made her come to me for comfort.
    It might seem like a small thing, but I think that one of the gifts that Jesus probably took greatest pleasure in were those moments in which he participated in revealing the beauty and strength in people. It gives them the courage to love themselves.
    Thanks for your affirmation of that gift!

    Reply

    • Thanks for sharing that beautiful story. She must have felt safe and loved in your presence. How beautiful:) that says a lot about your character and your heart:) thanks for stopping by! Blessings friend

      Reply

  17. I went through and re-read this. I’m broken in a different way but never-the-less broken. As a matter of fact I believe we are all broken…some are just willing to admit it. It helped me tonight a little, thank you.

    Reply

  19. Dear little beauty, you have so tenderly shown what it is to be touched by Jesus – to be lifted from whatever pit we have been in. And, that picture of the baby expresses how incredible it is to be forgiven by the King in light of the “barbaric” practices we have been in. Love it.

    Reply

  22. We are all broken in some fashion .
    With faith in God and asking him to heal
    us we are transformed and made new –
    then he gets the glory.
    Love your writing – continue to write
    about your way to a healthy you .

    Reply

  23. I really enjoy the way you can take a familiar story or situation and make it new, remind me of its meaning. That’s why I keep reading you. To learn from you and to root for you! Thank you!

    Reply

  25. Beautiful truth! I too often believed the lie: “That my past makes me incurable. Hopeless. A lost cause. That I will never be able to overcome this despair?”

    The day I allowed Jesus to knock that lie down in my life was the greatest day ever!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Jeffrey H. KingCancel reply

Discover more from BeautyBeyondBones

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading