Broken but Forgiven

One summer, my husband and I arrived home from a few days away to find large cracks in a window of our flat. We learned that while playing with friends in the nearby courtyard, a young neighbour had kicked a ball that broke the window.

 The boy was usually playing outside with other children, but now he was nowhere to be seen. We went to his home, where he hesitantly came to the door, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped.

‘We heard about the ball. It was an accident; it could happen to anybody,’ we said. ‘We forgive you.’ The boy straightened. His eyes came up to meet ours, and he smiled. 

When we make mistakes it’s easy to wrestle with shame and withdraw from our world. We may feel that we don’t deserve to be loved by God or anyone else. We sometimes have the sense that our faults are so big, they can’t be forgiven.

But God sent Jesus Christ to die for us and redeem us. This grace covers us. We can hold our heads up high and meet the future with confidence, with the certainty that even in our brokenness, God forgives us.