Broken to bond ~ Jon Courson

… Zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Titus 2:14-15

Telling his contemporaries as well as those younger and older than him the truth would probably not have been easy for Titus. And it may not always be easy for you. But if you’re a boss, a Bible study teacher, a parent, or a coach there are times when you need to speak the truth, as hard as it may be.

Then said I, Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. Jeremiah 1:6-8,10

That’s what moms and dads, pastors and grandparents, bosses and coaches have to do sometimes. We’re called to pull down in order that we may build up.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Psalm 51:7-9

As a shepherd, David understood the meaning of broken bones. You see, when a lamb would stubbornly and rebelliously continue to wander away from the flock, the shepherd would break its legs and place the lamb on his shoulder where it would remain until its bones were healed. When the lamb could walk again, so bonded was he with the shepherd, he would never stray again.

Like sheep, we all go astray (Isaiah 53:6). Therefore, in His love, the Good Shepherd breaks a bone or two and carries me while I whine and cry and wonder what He’s doing. But as the days and weeks and months go by, I find myself closer to Him than I had ever been previously, and all I can say is, ‘Thank You, Lord.’

Part of shepherding means breaking a bone or two. Thus, Titus would have to speak words that could cause tears to flow or bones to snap. But he could do so with authority, knowing it was an opportunity for the wounded sheep to one day walk with its Shepherd more intimately.