Broken and Renewed

Last weekend, I saw the latest X-Men movie – Dark Phoenix. Like all the movies in the X-Men franchise, this movie grapples with questions about what makes us human and what gives us value. The X-Men are mutants – humans with mutated genes that give them different powers. Some mutants have the ability to read and control minds; others fly, turn into beasts, change their appearance, move things with their minds, or shoot laser beams from their eyes. This is all comic-book science-fiction, and there’s no end to the powers the writers have come up with.

In Dark Phoenix, the main character is a young woman with exceptionally strong powers. As a girl, not yet able to control her power, Jean caused an accident that killed her mother. Professor Charles Xavier (who puts the X in X-Men) offered Jean a home at his school for mutants, but Jean was afraid that he was just another doctor wanting to “fix” her. In a very touching scene, Charles reassures Jean that he doesn’t want to fix her because she isn’t broken. Yes, she’s different. But she can embrace her differences, learn to control her power, and do wonderful things – if that’s what she chooses.

Sometimes, we all want to be reassured that we are valued just the way we are. We see the mess in our lives and try to fix everything different or uncomfortable or unattractive about ourselves so people will like us. I know I’ve been guilty lately of not wanting to post any pictures of myself until I find a way to look younger. And so much of our social conversation these days is about accepting people who are different than us. There would be a lot less hatred and violence in our world if we could just let people be who they want to be instead of trying to “fix” everyone who looks, thinks, or acts differently.

Here is where the Christian message can get tricky. 

Jesus loves people. All people. He doesn’t care what color their skin is, where they are from, who they voted for, or what kind of clothes they like to wear. 

Jesus loves and accepts all the people. But he doesn’t want them to stay the way they are. Because deep down on the inside, every one of us is broken. Every one of us needs forgiveness for living a life that doesn’t always bring honor and glory to God who created us. Every one of us needs to put God first in our lives, so we can learn to be the people he created us to be.

Yes, you are broken. So am I. But Jesus is making me new. My job as a Christian is to love people the way Jesus loves them - without exception. It's not my job to fix them. I can only invite them to meet Jesus who is the only one who can heal the brokenness inside.

​“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24, NIV).

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