To bind up the broken-hearted

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; - Isaiah 61:1

The Christian blogosphere, and the general Western obsession with "getting it right" (which is much to be preferred to an obsession with getting it wrong, of course!) might give you the impression that being a Christian, and being successful, are the same thing.

Christianity is about lining up your doctrines, dealing with every situation according to the gospel and... great! All is well.

It's there too in Kenyan Christianity - tick all the boxes, and you'll succeed; where "success" is understood in immediate, earthly terms.

But the real Jesus was sent to bind up the broken-hearted. Why are they broken-hearted? Because sin brings ruin. It must do; that is its nature. Sin is an assault on God's good order. Because of sin God's creation has been left in ruins. Peoples' lives have been left in ruins. There is coming a time when "he will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 21:4). But that time has not yet arrived. Until it does, there will be times when the tears will flow and the hearts will break. Doctrines and beliefs may still be held; but the real-world tragedies remain. It is not Christian to pretend that broken hearts don't exist. It is Christian to take immense comfort in the Saviour who binds up the broken hearts.

Where, then, is your comfort? It can't be that the world is already perfect. Even in this post-resurrection age, hearts must and will break. Our comfort is that the Lord Jesus himself has been personally sent to bind up those broken hearts. The Father loves us, and commissioned his Son to come and have his own heart and soul and body broken, that ours might be healed.