As I was listening to the radio, I heard someone talking about authentic Christianity. He posited that only a person who had been "broken" could become an authentic Christian. His research revealed that only approximately 6% of professing Christians reported being "broken" in the past, resulting on a large number of inauthentic Christians.
What do you make of this theory? How many of us will acknowledge that sin, addiction, self-centerdness, greed, or any number of other issues have caused us to turn away from God? Was there a moment when we hit bottom, acknowledged our shortcomings, and fought our way back to God? Is this a necessary step in our Christian journey?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us that our journey is NOT about us. Our brokenness is not what is important. "To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. Once more, all that self denial can say is: 'He leads the way, keep close to him.'"
Broken, shattered, or relatively whole, God calls us all. There are no prerequisites, no entry requirements. We must, however, die to self and put God first. No glue required!
