Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

Upon Him was the punishment that made us whole.

Whole– complete, lacking or wanting nothing. Nothing left undone. God’s sacrifice of His son Jesus didn’t almost take away my sin. It’s all gone. And, because of His death, I am whole. I don’t get it. I don’t deserve a tiny bit of it. But it’s as real as the air I breathe.  

And it’s a paradox, isn’t it? That broken people are made whole through the love of Jesus. That people who do nothing to deserve grace and mercy get forgiveness lavished on them. Broken and splintered people with awful regrets are welcomed, invited to the table to eat the Bread of Life. It’s clear. We’re not wrist-slapped and sent on our way. We’re. Made. Whole.

So, I have a confession or two.

God, forgive me for acting as if I’m not whole. For operating in partiality. For believing partially. For having partial faith. For being a wife, mother, child of God only part way, as if fear or doubt or pride or lust can undo what You have done for me.

Forgive me for acting as if I am less than—less than worthy, less than saved, less than gifted, only partially filled with the power I need to do Your work. My partial faith focuses on the mountain and not the mustard seed.

This year. I want to live as a whole Christian. I want to honor God’s sacrifice by not settling for being a fraction of the person God created me to be. He didn’t halfway die for me. I’m invited to jump in. Belly flop into the Living Water. Immersed in grace. I can be about nothing less than building the Kingdom of God.This broken, messed up,eating Nutella right out of the tub woman has Holy Fire flowing in her veins.

And so does anyone who calls on the name of Jesus. Anyone who trades sin for healing. Death for life. Being part for being made whole. His stripes heal us, but they do so much more. They make us whole. And that’s good news for me and my people.

If we were all cast in a movie, I think we’d look more like a band of pirates than a church choir. But, that’s God’s idea of whole. In our brokenness we see Him, we’re forced to trust and rely on Him. Thank God for that. Here’s to not settling for staying broken.  Here’s to seeing what God can continue to do through the broken, the imperfect, the messed up, the gloriously made whole. Happy New Year.

Dear God,

Thank You for sending Your son to make us whole. I pray that this new year will bring more and more of You into our lives. I pray that Your Spirit guides anyone reading this into a deeper relationship with the one and only, the Living God who heals, delivers, protects, and provides. More and more of You, God in all of who we are. Your will, not ours! Bless the earth with peace and Your people with wisdom.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen