Break My Heart for What Breaks Yours

We sang "Hosanna" (Hillsong Publishing) last Sunday. In the third verse we sing, "Break my heart for what breaks yours; everything I am for your kingdom's cause." This line kills me every time. We were singing this song many years ago when we started the process of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. As we sang last week, I looked over to Isaiah Ashenafi and thought, "How could what breaks our hearts turn into the very thing that makes our hearts overflow with joy and love?"

Then again, isn't this what the Father does regularly? Taking our dusty, tired, lifeless, and hard hearts and making them flesh? Filling us with a desire for those things He desires? Giving us life and joy? His Spirit filling us and giving us wholeness? Are not the fruits of the Spirit (which breaks us!) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control? Thanks be to God for His great love and the upside-down nature of His kingdom!

Being a Christian is hard. It is hard because it is changing us. Rather, He is changing us. It feels so terribly out of control much of the time. Do I trust Him that in the midst of letting go He is truly doing something significant--either in me or for the sake of the kingdom?

I praying, and preaching, and living today for an audience of One.

Matthew 6:1-4