No Throw-Aways

Over Christmas break of 2024, I spent some time going through a classic work entitled The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax by Richard Sibbes (1577-1635). You may recall the Bible verse behind this title. Speaking of Jesus, we read that “a bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench”(Isaiah 42:3 and Matthew 12:20). Since most of us in the twenty-first century don’t know a whole lot about reeds and flax, we get additional insight from more modern renderings of Isaiah’s verbiage.
 
“He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged” (NLT).
 
“He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant, but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right” (MSG).
 
Perhaps today we could think of people who have been wounded and injured throughout life, those who are running on fumes and feel like they are barely holding on. Scripture is saying that Jesus does not despise or abandon such individuals but desires to nurture them back to health and life.
 
Much of Sibbes’ focus in the book is on God’s compassion toward those who have struggled and failed in life, including when we ourselves have failed. One of his great statements is “Let us not be cruel to ourselves when Christ is gracious.” He recognizes that in addition to having compassion toward others, we must be willing to receive God’s grace for ourselves. There is an accuser who is always ready to bring condemnation and discouragement, and each of us needs to remember that God is for us, not against us.
 
Sibbes also exhorts his readers not to have a haughty, critical, fault-finding disposition toward others. He writes, “Discourteous behavior toward humbled, miserable persons is unfitting for any who look for mercy themselves. Misery should be a magnet for mercy, not a footstool for pride to trample on.” Also, “Men must not be too curious in prying into the weaknesses of others. We should strive to see what they have that is fit for eternity, so that it inclines our hearts to love them, rather than focus on [their] weaknesses which the Spirit of God will consume in time…”
 
Sibbes’ admonitions reminded me of a brilliant insight shared by Charles Spurgeon: “We shall, as we ripen in grace, have greater sweetness towards our fellow Christians. Bitter-spirited Christians may know a great deal, but they are immature. Those who are quick to censure [condemn] may be very acute in judgment, but they are as yet very immature in heart… I trust we shall not be more tolerant of evil, but we shall be more tolerant of infirmity, more hopeful for the people of God, and certainly less arrogant in our criticisms.”
 
Likewise, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow reminded people that “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” He further stated, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
 
Over the Christmas break, Lisa and I also watched “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” twice. It was a heart-warming movie that features six unruly kids named the Herdmans who were considered the “worst” in their neighborhood and school. These children end up with lead roles in a church’s Christmas play, much to the horror of the good and upright church folk. Seeing beyond their rough exterior and offensive ways, the play’s director, a lady named Grace, sees this as an opportunity for God’s love to operate, and it does. It is a beautiful story of redemption, and powerfully illustrates the words to the old song, “He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Need.”
 
Remember that God is in the redeeming business toward you, toward me, and toward others. Whoever has been “bruised and hurt” or feels “small and insignificant,” God has grace for all of us. He wants to minister his compassion to us and through us. Sibbes admonishes, “Let us use this mercy and power every day in our struggles: ‘Lord Jesus, you have promised not to quench the smoking flax nor to break the bruised reed. Cherish your grace in me. Do not leave me to myself, and the glory will be yours.’”
 
When Jesus saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion (Matthew 9:36). I recall John Osteen referring to “crying, sighing, dying humanity.” It is important not just to have a philosophical love to the people who are “out there,” but practical love toward those who are nearby. Shortly before Paul listed the fruit of the Spirit, he exhorted the Galatians, “if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another” (Galatians 5:15 NLT).
 
Allow me to close with some great quotes from yesteryear.
 
“Three words were constantly upon Jesus’ lips: the least, the last, and the lost.”
– E. Stanley Jones
 
“Compassion costs. It is easy enough to argue, criticize, and condemn, but redemption is costly, and comfort draws from the deep. Brains can argue, but it takes heart to comfort.”
– Samuel Chadwick
 
“Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation.”
– Henry Ward Beecher
 
As we move forward, let’s remember that whether it is for ourselves or others, Jesus “won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant, but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right” (Matthew 12:20 MSG). Let’s be partners with Jesus — let’s both receive and distribute his great love throughout our lives.