The Brokenness of Things

This poem is a response to all that’s wrong with the world, and an ode to Christ’s promise that everything wrong will be made right. It follows the reality of Romans 8:22–23, which says, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

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The brokenness of things

Can be too much to bear.

The longing, the groaning

For wholeness we feel

That burdens the soul

And strains at the mind—

“How long, O Lord?” 

We cry, we cry.

The brokenness of things,

When too much to bear,

Is an arrow pointing inward:

The heart, it reveals

The source of the pain,

Its origin defined.

We know for sin

We cry, we cry.

The brokenness of things

Came fully to bear

In his body. All the sting

Of sin concealed,

Bearing the wrath

For death to die.

“My God, my God,”

He cried, he cried.

The brokenness of things

That once we bore

When swallowed up, consumed

By truest life,

The sharpest pain

And tears in the eye—

“This is our God!”

We will cry, and cry.

The brokenness of things

That still we bear

Rises up as groaning.

We long to see

The One for whom 

Our faith turns sight.

“Come, Lord Jesus,”

We cry, we cry.