Broken to be made Whole

The human body is probably the most intricate and amazing machines, the construct and function of which has still not been fully elaborated. Among the many different cells that make up the complex milieu that constitutes the body, there are one set of cells that roam the entire body and serve many functions. This is especially relevant in my subspecialty; I allude to the white blood cell. 

The white blood cell is responsible for many functions in the body, among them, most importantly, fighting off infection. Additionally, it scavenges and removes dead cells in the body and fights abnormally and aberrantly multiplying cells, otherwise known as cancers. People who are immunocompromised, that is, someone who does not have normal white cells, both quantitatively and qualitatively, are more prone to the development of cancers because of the relative inability to detect and destroy abnormally multiplying cells before they grow unchecked.

The most prominent role of a white blood cell is to fight infection, be it something relatively trivial as the common cold, or something more serious such as meningitis or a blood stream infection. It roams the body and scouts for these threats to our health, attacking it before it becomes a problem.

Romans 11: 17-20 reads: 17If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble.

In response to the onslaught of infection, the white blood cell itself gets destroyed after it has done its job and accomplished its usefulness. It is itself ‘broken’ in the process of preventing us from ‘breaking down’. 

There are several references to being ‘broken’ in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, in varying contexts. To highlight a select few: They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (Luke 9:17)  . Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. (John 19:31). Thus, they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. (I Timothy 5:12).

God uses most, for His glory, those people and things that are most perfectly broken. The sacrifices He accepts are broken and contrite hearts. It was the breaking down of Jacob’s natural strength at Peniel that got him where God could clothe him with spiritual power. It was the breaking of the surface of the rock at Horeb, by the stroke of Moses’ rod, that let out the cool waters to thirsty people. 

It was when the three hundred elect soldiers under Gideon broke their pitchers, a type of breaking themselves, that the hidden lights shone forth to the consternation of their adversaries. It was when the poor widow broke the seal of the little pot of oil, and poured it forth, that God multiplied it to pay her debts and supply means of support. It was when Esther risked her life and broke through the rigid etiquette of a heathen court, that she obtained favor to rescue her people from death. It was when Jesus took the five loaves and broke them, that the bread was multiplied in the very act of breaking, sufficient to feed the five thousand. It was when Mary broke her beautiful alabaster box, rendering it henceforth useless, that the pent-up perfume filled the house. It was when Jesus allowed His precious body to be broken to pieces by thorns and nails and spear, that His inner life was poured out, like a crystal ocean, for thirsty sinners to drink and live. 

Broken by God to be made whole for God. Broken by God to make others whole and with God. It is when a beautiful grain of corn is broken up in the earth by death that its inner heart sprouts forth and bears hundreds of other grains. And thus, on and on, throughout the Bible and in history, and all biography, and in all spiritual life, God uses ‘brokenness’ to accomplish His mission. 

In our ‘breaking’ there is a ‘remaking’, not only in the metaphorical physical sense but in the spiritual sense. Ill health makes us physically ‘broken’ and when we are healed, by His grace, we are remade for Him. Those who are broken in wealth, or broken in self-will, or broken in their ambitions, or broken in their ideals, or broken in worldly reputation, or broken in their affections, or broken mentally, those who are despised and seem utterly forlom and helpless, it is those and in those circumstances that God remakes us to be more like Him, to be used for His glory. 

One of my favorite writers is the Scottish preacher and blind hymnographer, George Matheson, who wrote such famous songs as ‘O Love that will not let me go’, among many others. He wrote a piece that I will share because it speaks for itself.  There are three classes in the Christian life; those of ‘the wing’, those of ‘the couch’, and those of ‘the road’. The first are those who fly before; they are the pioneers of progress; they are in advance of their fellows.  The second are those who stand still, or rather, lie still; they are the invalids of the human race – they come not to minister, but to be ministered unto.  The third are those who follow; they are the ambulance corps of humanity; they are the sacrificial souls that come on behind. I think that these are the most beautiful souls of all. They are lovely in their unobtrusiveness; they do not wish to lead, choosing rather to be in the rear; they come forward only when others are driven backward.  They want no glory from the battle, no wreath for the victory, no honorable mention among the heroes. They seek the wounded, the dying, the dead, they anoint for life’s burial; they bring spices for the crucified; they give the cup of cold water, they wash the soiled feet. They break the fall of Adam, of Magdalene. They take in Saul of Tarsus after he becomes blind. They are attracted by defects; they are lured by every form of helplessness. They come out to meet the shadows; they go in the track, not of the lark, but of the nightingale; they follow the Lamb. Give me the trouble without the glitter, O Lord! Let others lead! I am content to follow. Help me to serve Thee in the background! I cannot fight Your battles, but I can nurse Your wounded. I cannot repel Your foes, but I can repair Your fortress. I cannot conduct Your marches, but I can comfort those who have fainted by the way.  Write my name amongst those who follow Theel !! O Captain of my Salvation, put me with the ambulance corps !!!

Maybe we are broken for one reason or another today. Maybe someone else we know is broken today. Like the white blood cell that heals the body, working in the background, may we be compelled to be in the ‘ambulance corps’, called not to be ministered unto, but to minister. 

George M. Abraham, MD, MPH, MACP, FIDSA, FRCP is a Professor of Medicine and Infectious Disease at the University of Massachusetts Medical School He is the also the Chair-Elect of the Federation of State Medical Boards and a past President of the American College of Physicians.