Four days after Christmas it was time to tidy up around the house.

Large plastic boxes seemed to be the answer to store some of the items that had found their way into the house over the Christmas period. Lots of presents, but also some items, that we have been storing for friends, had taken up space in the house but could be safely stored in the garage now.

The shops were very busy as my wife and I checked out a few different stores looking for the best deal.

We found what we wanted at a good price, lifted three large plastic boxes; made sure we had lids to fit, then made our way to the checkout and paid for the items.

It was a good distance to carry those boxes back to the car, so my arms were quite tired by the time we reached it and it was a great relief when we finally drove home to relax.

Next morning I was very enthusiastic about helping to get the house in order. I gathered together some of the items that were to be stored in the garage, and took them there, where the boxes were waiting to get filled. Sadly, as I separated the boxes, one of them was badly broken. We hadn`t noticed it while the three of them were all together.

I decided to take it back to the shop and get another one. While carrying it back to the shop, the brokenness of the box made me think of the many people who are broken at this very moment. There are many lives broken because of sin. The most serious brokenness is our broken relationship with God.

The bible tells us in Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (KJV). Sin separates people from one another causing broken relationships. It separates husbands and wives, partners, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, teachers and pupils, governments and the people, countries from other countries, but most of all, sin is against God. We have all broken His laws which have caused our relationship with Him to get broken and needs to be mended.

It was a bit of an inconvenience for me to have to go all the way back to the shop to swap the plastic box for another one. It was about a twelve mile round trip as I live in the country out of town. Nevertheless I got a new one with no problem.

God sees our brokenness and longs to fix it for us, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die for us. He took all our sins upon Himself, taking the blame for them as if he had committed the sins (See, 2 Corinthians 5:12). Psalm 147:3 and Isaiah 61:1 tell us that Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted. He can fix our brokenness if we let Him come into our lives.

The small inconvenience I had to get a new box was nothing compared to what God had to do for us. From Heaven to earth, became a baby, lived a perfect life, suffered and died on the cross, was buried and raised again and went back to Heaven having finished the work He came to do.

As we have just Celebrated Christmas, I was wondering how many people joined in the celebrations but were still broken hearted. Although Christmas has passed, God’s gift of salvation from sin is being offered continually. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (KJV)

He is knocking at your hearts door right now and will come in if you let Him.

He will fix your broken relationship with God and with other people and bring peace into your heart where unrest so often surges like the waves of the sea.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the gift of Your Son Jesus. I invite you Jesus into my heart to fix my brokenness. Be Lord of my life and live in me for your glory. Amen.

Donnie Black.