{"id":221,"date":"2017-02-23T20:59:34","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T20:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theoikonomist.com\/?p=221"},"modified":"2017-02-23T20:59:34","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T20:59:34","slug":"sweetly-broken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theoikonomist.com\/?p=221","title":{"rendered":"Sweetly Broken"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we have a special post from guest blogger, Brandon Chuang (Ken’s son). Brandon is currently attending optometry school in Boston. His post is a timely one as we head into Lent – a season of self-reflection as we consider our own sinfulness that led to Christ’s death and crucifixion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Luke 7:47<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cTherefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love the NIV version of this verse. I feel that it perfectly captures my greatest struggle, acceptance of the full extent of my brokenness.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all had those piercing moments. Those moments where the weight of our transgressions comes crashing down on us. It could be something from the past, triggered by something you saw while casually perusing social media. It could be falling, yet again, into a pattern of sin you swore off so many times. These are largely the ways in which it\u2019s manifested in me, but it could be anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

The past two weeks have been 2 of the most emotionally and spiritually difficult weeks of my life, and I don\u2019t want to minimize that. I\u2019ve been barraged with sins from my past that I\u2019d swept under the rug unknowingly. It\u2019s not that I didn\u2019t confess them to God and ask for forgiveness, but I never let my heart experience just how vile these sins were. I made excuses to minimize them. \u201cEveryone goes through this, it\u2019s a normal struggle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

My constant coping mechanism stems from this idea that, \u201cI\u2019m not that<\/em> bad of a person.\u201d This can also be referred to as, \u201cI don\u2019t need that<\/em> much of God\u2019s grace.\u201d And it has worked as a temporary fix, temporary being 25 years of life. However, as I\u2019m growing older and continually being faced with the magnanimity of my sins both past and present, \u201cI\u2019m not that<\/em> bad of a person\u201d really doesn\u2019t do it anymore.<\/span><\/p>\n

These past two weeks, God has been forcing my hand, and I could no longer defend myself. \u201cI\u2019m a really, really<\/em>, broken, messed up person, and there\u2019s no excuse for all these things I\u2019ve done.\u201d In that moment, the standards I\u2019d set for my life and my self-image were shattered\u2026 Yet it was this \u201ccrying out\u201d that opened my heart to even more of God\u2019s forgiveness and love, it was what He was waiting for.<\/span><\/p>\n

We need<\/em> to understand the degree of our brokenness to fully understand what God\u2019s love and grace covers and redeems. And let\u2019s be clear on one thing, I do NOT fully understand my own brokenness. I don\u2019t think I ever will until I see Him face to face, but I firmly believe a tell-tale sign of maturity is the deepening of our understanding of our own sinful nature, coupled with the further surrendering of our lives to \u201cthe One is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Only when we have been forgiven much, can we love so boldly<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been 3 days since that desperate cry. Already, I feel myself reverting to my old ways. It\u2019s okay. I know it\u2019s a process, a lifelong one at that. I want to encourage you, friends, to fully embrace your brokenness, knowing our God redeems and restores us.<\/span><\/p>\n

I recently re-uploaded Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle to my Spotify playlist as a reminder of these past 2 weeks. \u201cAt the cross You beckon me. You draw me gently to my knees and I am lost for words, so lost in love. I\u2019m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I pray that these words mean more and more to me every day, and I hope they bless you as well.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we have a special post from guest blogger, Brandon Chuang (Ken’s son). Brandon is currently attending optometry school in Boston. His post is a timely one as we head into Lent – a season of self-reflection as we consider our own sinfulness that led to Christ’s death and crucifixion. Luke 7:47 \u201cTherefore, I tell … Continue reading Sweetly Broken<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,23,14],"class_list":["post-221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formation","tag-confession","tag-forgiveness","tag-lent"],"yoast_head":"\nSweetly Broken - The Oikonomist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theoikonomist.com\/?p=221\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sweetly Broken - The Oikonomist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today we have a special post from guest blogger, Brandon Chuang (Ken’s son). 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