Instead of the Brier Shall Come Up the Myrtle Tree
God can transform our painful experiences into beautiful memorials of peace and goodness by giving us the grace to heal and reconcile with others.
A.B. Simpson emphasizes that God transforms our deepest pains and grievances into beautiful memorials of peace and goodness. He encourages us to bring our sorrows, strained relationships, and regrets to God for healing and reconciliation. By allowing God's grace to work in our lives, we can experience joy and blessings from our past hurts. Simpson reminds us that as peacemakers, we reflect Christ's work of reconciling the estranged and healing the brokenhearted. Ultimately, we are called to actively participate in mending the wounds of a sorrowing world.
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God's sweetest memorial is the transformed thorn and thistle blooming with flowers of peace and goodness where once recriminations grew. God is waiting to make just such memorials in your life out of the things that are hurting you most today. Take the grievances, the separations, the strained friendships and the broken ties which have been the sorrow and heartbreak of your life and let God heal them. Allow Him to give you grace that can make you right with all those with whom you have been wrong. You will wonder at the joy and, blessing that will come out of the things that have caused you nothing but regret and pain.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9).
The everlasting employment of our blessed Redeemer is to reconcile the guilty and the estranged from God. The highest and most Christlike work that we can do is to be like Him. Shall we go forth to dry the tears of a sorrowing world, to heal the brokenhearted, to bind up the wounds of human lives, and to unite heart to heart and earth to heaven?
Sermon Outline
- God's Power to Transform
- God's Desire to Heal
- The Importance of Peacemaking
- Our Call to Action
- Going forth to heal and unite others
- Being like Christ in reconciling others
Key Quotes
“God's sweetest memorial is the transformed thorn and thistle blooming with flowers of peace and goodness where once recriminations grew.” — A.B. Simpson
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9).” — A.B. Simpson
“Shall we go forth to dry the tears of a sorrowing world, to heal the brokenhearted, to bind up the wounds of human lives, and to unite heart to heart and earth to heaven?” — A.B. Simpson
Application Points
- We can allow God to heal our grievances and broken relationships, and bring joy and blessing out of our pain.
- Being a peacemaker is a vital part of God's plan, and we can play a role in reconciling others and uniting them with God.
- We are called to go forth and serve others, healing their broken hearts and uniting them with heaven.