Weekly Devotional Message from Dr. David Jones

February 15, 2008


Dear family and friends of WCPC:

Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”

Thanks be to God! This is a broken world. Evidence of that is all around us. I remember a professor in seminary suggesting that when we start talking about the brokenness of this world, we didn’t need too many illustrations. It’s a reality all of us live with daily.

But even though it’s a broken world, it has not been abandoned. “And the Word became flesh and dwell among us…” God in Christ entered the brokenness. 

While God in Christ is present with us, God doesn’t protect us from the realities of living in a broken, fallen world. Many times we wish God would. We wish that God would maybe wave a magic wand and make it all go away. But it doesn’t go away and we cry out “Why, Lord? Why is this happening?” 

I lost a good friend this week, Rick Kool. Rick was my age, had two daughters just like me, one in college, the other in high school. Rick and his wife Eve were in a small group with Jullie and me while we were in Marietta. Over the weekend Rick got very sick. By the time he was admitted to the hospital his vital signs were minimum and he died on Wednesday morning. Since then I’ve been trying to figure out, “Why?” Now I know some of the “why.” We live in a broken, fallen world and none of us are immune from it, but that answer doesn’t really satisfy when you’re standing over the grave of a loved one or friend or have just been called to the emergency room or...you fill in the blank. 

Rather than an answer, there is a presence. God is with us, even in the midst of our sorrow and questions. Jesus illustrates that with His birth, His life, and His death. God in Christ entered into the brokenness with us. God is with us in our pain, sorrow, and even in the midst of the questions, and at times our anger.

I know many of you have experienced the realities of brokenness. Allow God in Christ to come alongside you. Allow God’s love to flow over you. Be open to how God might use others to illustrate God’s presence and also, be open to how God might use you to do the same for another. 

I believe in redemption. God in Christ is victorious over sin and evil and brokenness and death. Never forget that good news and never forget often the only way others will know it is through you.

Your pastor,

David Jones