Finding the beauty in the broken road

There's a song from years ago sung by the country music band, Rascal Flatts. “Bless the Broken Road” is generally about a person finding their true love. It became a popular wedding song. One line says, “This much I know is true, that God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you; yes, He did.”

With Lent beginning this week, I'd like to interpret these words in a little different way. Not all Christians cultivate awareness of this 40-day spiritual pilgrimage leading up to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus, and the celebration of His resurrection on Easter, but I like to mark Lent. 

What if I thought of the “broken road” as my own life journey — and “led me straight to you,” as discovering a relationship with God.  Growing up a preacher's kid, I had an early advantage in learning about Jesus, knowing He came to the world — God among us — to seek and to save lost and broken people.  That stops many right there who do not think of themselves as needing anything from God. It didn't take me long to figure out I fit in with the lost and broken crowd.   

I don't know a person who hasn't lived a broken life in some way or another.  Brokenness comes from myself — and from those around me.  It's called sin.  God is clear that sin is sourced in humankind's own choices.  Sin is not, and can never be, a part of His nature. 

Let's say somewhere along this “broken road” I find I do need seeking and saving — and out of all the twists and turns — the wrong directions — the skids and crashes — I learn Jesus is there to walk a new road with me. I'm still human — still in process — but I've been forgiven, I have a Savior, and He's got my life going a God direction. My broken road has brought me to Him. 

Now what if “Bless the Broken Road” comes from Jesus' point of view.  He lived no broken road himself, although you could say He's traveled more broken roads than anyone because He's walked them with humankind.  However, there is one broken road He willingly took on and made His own — the cross. 

He said, “This is My body, broken for you.”  How He could die for “the sins of the world” in order to save the world is something only God knows. Here is the part that takes my breath — this broken road — His sacrifice — led Him straight to me. “God bless the broken road that led Me straight to you.” 

Jesus found me in all my broken places — because He created me, and He loves and cares for me. He has an eternity to hand out — one where broken doesn't exist — and He'd like me to live it with Him. I said yes. If He was going to break like that for me, then I can absolutely trust everything about Him. 

I treasure the Lenten season. I know it's Fat Tuesday in New Orleans — some people think all the fun is over for the next six weeks. I look at it this way — I have these 40 days to be especially glad for how all who trust in Jesus are pulled from the broken road in the greatest rescue of all time.