To Be Fixed, It Must Break.

By Carla Castro

Acts 7 is nearly entirely a speech, given by Stephen, moments before his death. He recaps major events of the Old Testament, from Abraham to Joseph to Moses. Story after story of great men, chosen men, and their hardships, their act to follow God (sometimes unwillingly at first), and their overcoming oppression. Each story shared key plot elements and Stephen used this to accuse the Sanhedrin of being the same as the prior oppressors, failing to listen to the Holy Spirit, fearing those who speak the Truth, trying to bind those who preach in effort to silence them.

Why is it that men of power are often so fearful of the great I Am? Why are Christians persecuted daily for their belief systems? What is it about our Lord and Savior that instills great fear into people? The Truth, I believe.

It's like I wrote about in a prior blog. The Truth is one rough pill to swallow. It's difficult to take when another person points out the truth and your shortcomings. It's even more painful when it is God, telling you where you fall short and need to improve.

How often have you fallen, weakened by the utter dread of life, weeping, sobbing, in an emotional heartbreak on the floor, feeling the conviction that can come from nothing other than the Holy Spirit. I have. It is enough to break me, shatter my life into pieces, on the floor. Shards of what I thought was important become drenched with tears and I feel as if every drop of blood is pouring from my heart because it hurts so badly.

But God is good. Even through those times, He is there. Standing over us. Allowing us to wallow in self pity for a moment. Allowing us to remove the weaknesses from our being. Then, as gently as a parent dealing with an unruly toddler, God reaches down. He grasps our chin and lifts it up while softly whispering, I love you. He grabs us solidly by the hands and pulls us to our feet. He wraps around us strongly, giving us the strength to move forward. He tells us that we are better than that, the brokenness, the pieces of life that we are, and He picks up our pieces, one by one, showing us the way to become more like Him. And the pain of the conviction never goes away, but as we strive to follow God, it lessens.

The Truth is often oppressed because it's hard. It's painful to accept and difficult to overcome. But, we can. With Jesus, we can overcome our past and who we have become at one point or another. That is why it is called "Rebirth".

I wonder if the Sandedrin every broke down and allowed God to change them...?