By Timothy Coman
Robert, a single father of two children walked in the backdoor of his local congregation. As with any normal Sunday, He was there to teach his Sunday school class.
Right after Robert walked in, Maria, age 33 also entered the church house, she hurried to find her kid’s Sunday school class, and then find her own.
Both individuals come to church weekly, they are faithful and at the same time, they are faithfully ignored. See, most people only know that Robert sells insurance and teaches this small class, and that Maria works at the local store, and that she is somewhere from the Midwest, but the common theme of both of their lives is chaos, confusion, abandonment and fear.
Both are carrying hidden hurts, wounds so deep they would take years of therapy to remove, and yet both enter this house, both also leave the same way.
So, let us bring this closer to home.
Have you seen them? You know, the person who walks into church having been damaged, wounded, and sometimes afraid. They walk through the doors looking for hope, and yet desperately leave the same way, more confused, feeling lost, and at times, hopeless.
Their pain is evident, but they have hidden it so long, its more comfortable to remain as they are. In their minds, why should this Sunday be any different?
They have come in search of someone who can fix their problems. Maybe they are lonely, it is even possible, they are not sure how to ask for help. They feel left out, they feel angry, and they feel judged due to their choices or circumstances.
The Word tells us what Jesus came to do. In Isaiah 61:1, it says what I think is the true mission of the church. It says God has anointed us to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release the prisoners from the darkness.
Who is the poor? Is the poor simply the person who cannot make ends meet? While indeed this can be described as the poor but let us take a closer look. What about the person who has all the money, toys, and popularity, and yet they never experienced the real Jesus?
Who is the Broken Hearted? Maybe it is that mom who is desperate for her son to get off drugs or that person who has gone through a painful marriage and it was not restored. Perhaps it is the young man or woman struggling with an alternate lifestyle, and they are living in complete desperation while their family chooses to live in denial.
Who are the captives? Is it those in our local jail or prison? Or is it the person who is locked-up in the prison of their mind? They are trapped by fear, by anger, maybe by addiction? Maybe this person is bound up by lust, maybe its bitterness.
Maybe those captives are prisoners under the impression they are liberated from darkness because they joined a church, gave an offering, cared for other people, and yet, they still are lost without Christ.
All types of people walk through our doors on Sunday mornings, some never telling anyone anything, and the very thought of bear your burdens one to another is not something they are willing to risk for some Christian along the way refused to be the conduit of grace, and it is simply safer to remain hidden.
They need to be introduced to a loving Father, one whose Grace chases them down, welcomes their home, is not concerned about what they did, but sees them as the prodigal.
They need Emergency Surgery of the heart, by a Skilled Surgeon who comes along, removes the band-aids, opens the heart, takes it out, kisses all the damaged places of their life, places it back in and restarts the heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26)
This surgeon then calls upon His Hospital to nurture, to love, to care for, and to rebuild the broken places, the empty dreams, the shattered relationships, and to restore those with meekness and love.
See, the Grace of the Cross leaves no room for racism, for hatred, for indifference, but it opens the door to the lost, the least and the lonely.
To enter this hospital, one must confess their need. They must first recognize I need surgery, I need healing, and I must accept the invitation of the Father.
The Hospital of Grace has a remarkable success rate, it is beyond transforming, the person who is truly healed will in turn express thanksgiving and be made whole.
So, when was the last time you encountered this Surgeon?
When was the last checkup you had? When was your last physical? Are you sick right now?
My friend, His emergency room is never closed, it is never full. You need no insurance or any money of front, and it never requires an appointment, and you are the first one He sees.
What has stood in your way? Your Past? Your Failures? Your Anger or Perhaps Some Bitterness?
Have you been attempting to treat this with other therapies or medications or some type of philosophy?
When was the last time we reconnected or brought someone to the table of Grace? For many, the anxiety, the uncertainty of life has them so full of unrest, and many times, they will never tell anyone, so if we never find safety in the house of our brothers and sisters, then where?
We may worship in a building made by the hands of men, but Jesus is the one who resides in the sanctuary of the heart. To understand the work of the Cross, you must be willing to step out, and to understand that we are His hands, His feet and His love extended to a hurting world.
Have you by your actions, been turning people away from the Hospital of the Brokenhearted?
When they enter the doors, do they feel loved, cared for and wanted?
See, each one of us is either a patient or a giver of life so Which Is it?
Something to think about.
Timothy Coman is the Student Ministries Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Fairfield, Texas
Instagram – thrivestudentsfairfield
