Break Our Hearts for what Breaks Yours
When I was growing up, every week on the way to church, my dad would play a CD from the Christian band Stafield, I grew to love their music, and particularly their recording of the song “Hosanna”. In the Bridge of Hosanna, Jon Neufeld sings, “Break my heart for what breaks yours.” Now, as a child I never truly understood what those lyrics meant. ‘Man, why should I want my heart to be broken? Isn't that a bad thing? Heartbreak sounds painful.’ These were the kinds of things that I would think of, as I listened and sang along.
But as I now reflect on the lyrics of this song as an adult, God has opened my eyes to finally have a deeper desire for understanding of the song. What are the things that break God's heart? What does it look like to empathize with God? What is God's response to my brokenheartedness? In my first complete year as an Outreach Worker in the community of Jesse Ketchum, I have felt both broken heartedness, and the joy of having my heart be healed by God's grace and love. I want to share with you a story of how my heart broke for what breaks God's heart, and how my heart was also healed.
“ The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
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God's heart breaks for those who don't know Him, and aren't reassured of the promise of salvation. As I've built relationships with the children and families of our downtown community at Jesse Ketchum, I have similarly felt my heart break for our children who have not had the opportunity to accept Jesus into their hearts.
One such child is *Michelle, whose family is from Myanmar. When I first met Michelle, I was overcome by her joy and youthful exuberance. I could see that she was a bright light in her class, and amongst the other children at KIC, our daily after-school program. However, I was soon saddened to hear that Michelle had decided not to be part of our weekly Bible lessons. When I asked her about her decision, her response broke my heart. “I don't want to hear about God because, in my country, Christians are killed”, she told me. I was filled with sadness knowing that I wouldn't be able to directly talk about Jesus or the joy of experiencing God's love with her, but also that there were other Christians across the globe who were being persecuted for their faith. Having lived in Canada all my life, it was hard for me to grasp that there were truly places where it was unsafe for Christians to openly worship the Lord.
As Michelle has continued to grow and mature, I have seen how the Lord has revealed Himself to her, culminating in her staunch desire to, one day, be a leader in her community, particularly to the other students who have decided not to be a part of our Bible lessons. She expressed this hope to me at the end of summer camp just this past August. Upon hearing this, I felt that God began to heal my heart. Although I do not know when the time will come when we can share Michelle about the joy of knowing God's love, I will wait in eager anticipation for that day.
As I continue to minister to the community of Jesse Ketchum, I pray for more understanding of God's character and of the things that break His heart so that I can in time be healed by God's great power.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.