Be Broken or Be Grounded

Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whoever it falls, it will grind him to powder!” Matthew 21:44

Our Lord is the corner stone that the builders rejected (Matthew 21:42). What’s pertinently clear about the above verse is judgment and wrath! However, for the one who falls on the stone will be broken into pieces. What is our Lord saying? He’s saying that to fall (or to surrender) you will be broken in realisation of the sin you’ve committed, in realisation of His holiness and in realisation of the standard required for perfect union with God! And in so being broken, it is God who moulds and shapes the Christian to His desire. And it makes perfect sense when we realise the depravity we once all dwelt in. We made ourselves a wreck, havoc, a self-seeking desire to sin! (Romans 3:10-18).

 But in falling on the stone, we realise that the stone is immovable and unchanging. We realise that this stone is perfect for falling on so that we can be broken! It is good to be broken, is it not? It is good to realise your sin and given the opportunity to repent! What of the other person, who does not fall onto the rock? We see in this verse that the rock will grind this person to powder. And we know all things from God is good (so I know some of you might be wrestling with this). This is almost harsh wording, but let us never forgets that our Lord is very serious when it comes to judgment. In Luke 13:3, Jesus tells his disciples His close friends “Unless you repent, you too shall perish!” But what love it is for Christ to share this truth that we as Christians know the importance to repent of sin in our lives!

It is far better to be broken then to be grounded into powder by Christ, for He will judge rightly, and knowing this is our nature as Christians to share the gospel in a hope that those who have ears would hear the truth. We as Christians need to know the seriousness of eternal judgment and condemnation. We need to KNOW this seriousness so not to shy away from sharing the gospel. Our command given by Christ is to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:16-20). Let us not hold back in sharing the truth regardless of what opposition we may face.