As Flat as Pancakes

10.07.14

Luke 20.18 "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” – Jesus (ESV)

I suppose it boils down to this: would you rather have a broken leg or a broken arm? Or maybe it’s more than that – maybe it’s: do you want to be broken or do you want to be crushed?

I remember when I was in 9^th or 10^th grade reading a book about World War II. The book was quite lengthy and quite detailed about what happened during that massive global struggle for freedom. In one part of the book it described the events of the Western Front where the Germans were invading (rather successfully) Russia, and the Soviets were retreating (rather unsuccessfully).

The Soviet (Red) Army had been all but decimated by the Germans and had run horribly short on food and medical supplies. In order to not be weighed down in their haste to flee the invading Germans – and to save ammunition – the Soviets killed their wounded by lining them up on the ground and running them over with tanks. It was cheaper than using ammo.

I’ve always wondered about that. What was it like to be in pain and suffering because of one’s misfortune in war only to find out that one was going to be crushed, dead, by the weight of a massive piece of war machinery operated by one’s own comrades? Was it head first, or feet first? Is this the thanks I get? War is hell; economics are brutal.

Jesus said to the Pharisees and religious leaders one day: "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” The Stone of which He spoke was the Stone they'd rejected because of their religious extremism. Was it to be broken or crushed? Was it to be head-first or feet first? To embrace the Stone is to be broken by it; to be pierced right through the tough outer shell of our ego and humanness allowing the Spirit of God to enter. To be crushed – well, to be crushed is to be run over and mushed to the thickness of a pancake. It’s cheaper than bullets…

These are hard concepts but truth is, ‘tis better to be broken than crushed. Psalm 51:17 says: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. God deals with brokenness: He rebuilds. I’m not sure what He does with crushed. The Red army left them there – as flat as pancakes.

Father, break me. I offer a broken spirit, not a crushed corpse. Keep me humble – keep me broken. The alternative isn’t pretty… Help me God! Amen.