The truth that brokenness is attached to blessings and what gets blessed is used for the glory and purposes of God is an undeniable spiritual principle enshrined in the teachings of God’s Word. This teaching corresponds to Jesus’ teaching on the grain of wheat that must fall to the ground and die before it produces a harvest. It is essentially similar to the message of pruning that Jesus spoke about when He said, “…while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). Ultimately, Jesus Christ embodied this truth when He presented himself as the Passover Bread which was broken for the sake of a broken world. He said to His disciples, “Take, eat: this is my body which is broken for you.”

I contend that this is one extraordinary principle that is so practically applicable. This remains as one of the most demonstrable truths to which countless number of saints through all ages can testify to. However, I have been a bit curious regarding the order of the process. Does God first bless and then break or is the reverse truer? Does the order in which this process works even matter? Is there a significant distinction or is this just another theological splitting of hair? Without sounding dogmatic, let me, by virtue of a general spiritual observation, proclaim that the order of the process is bless, break and multiply. When Jesus gave the bread to His disciples, He emphasized this divine order. The power of God’s Word encapsulated in God’s eternal plans watches over every prescribed divine line of demarcation.

When He first blessed the bread, then broke it and afterward He said, “Take.” Nonetheless, if there is a distinction, I believe that it has to do with the person’s attitude toward submission. When the bread, which represents any individual, is submitted to Him whole and with no preconditions, He breaks and uses it for His divine purposes. However I have come across many people who have rebelled against God and run away from His gentle call to repentance or service. In many such people, God’s Hand of heaviness first and foremost breaks the individual and then He blesses them to use them. This punitive dealing of God often causes great grief and pain. A wholesome surrender into His hands for whatever He chooses to do is a blessed state and this leads to greater glory. But then, the question arises: why would Jesus break the bread in the first place when He could have multiplied it without even breaking? What purposes are accomplished by this process of breaking?

The answer to such a deep cry is found in the realization that God’s greatness of what He does is found in the intricacy and fine print of His work. One can find great comfort in the knowledge that in all that God does, even when it does not make sense to the natural mind, there are much greater and grander purposes. When whole bread is broken in tiny pieces, it loses its identity, which is linked to its shape, size, and form. Now it attains an identity that is connected to one thing and one thing only, namely “purpose”, which is simply to feed the hungry. I have seen in restaurants across Asia where the shop keeper places various kinds of bread in an artistic fashion within glass cases to allure hungry customers. The bread serves as an attraction and looks appealing within glass showcases. However, when bread is broken, it no longer is preserved for its shape, finesse or appeal but is quickly consumed by hungry people. BROKEN BREAD HAS ONLY ONE PURPOSE namely to be consumed. When Jesus Christ, the true Bread that came from heaven, was broken, the Scripture says that He was marred beyond recognition. He possessed no attractiveness in Him and was pitiable to look upon but in and through His brokenness He became the Bread that gave life, eternal and abundant. May God break our pride, our self, our agenda and everything that will prevent us from being used for His purposes. Brokenness, as painful as it might be, needs to be seen through the eyes of the One who commands specific instructions over even the smallest details of this process.

There are three encouraging truths that we need to derive from the sacred dealings of God with the saints in this fruitful program of His.

1. It is noted in the Talmud and strictly followed by the Jews that only the one who blesses the bread has the right to break it. May God’s grace cement our faith in this great truth that what God blesses He will not let any human or satanic force break. God remains the only faithful constant throughout the process.
2. Looking at the life of Jesus Christ who became the ultimate representation of this truth, we can find solace in knowing that God has declared strict boundaries around this process. In the case of Jesus, with all the lacerations on His body, the scourging, piercings and even being nailed, it is such a marvel that not one bone of His body was broken. The ancient prophets of God had prophesied specifically that not one of His bones shall be broken. The bones did not crack even with a hair line fracture under such unbearable strain of torment. The power of God’s Word encapsulated in His eternal plans permeates over every prescribed divine demarcating line. God will not allow you to suffer beyond what His sovereign yet gentle counsel has predetermined.
3. The command of Jesus Christ to collect all the remaining crumbs so that not one tiny piece is lost signifies that our Heavenly Father cares for even the inconsequential aspects of our brokenness. The momentary hurt, the silent prayers, the teary yet never giving-up expressions of faith, the outbursts of pent up emotions in solitude, all are seen by our Master and are precious in the final count. Every part of this process must be seen comprehensively and not in isolation. Remember, it is linear from bless to break to multiply to preserve. Never forget that God always remains the only constant in this seemingly painful process.