So what does brokenness mean? It means we all have needs that are not being met. our needs may be met on the continuum from not at all to very adequately but it will never be perfectly met. New born babes are ultimate takers; they have unmet needs and they scream if they think they are unloved or alone. This is normal but if at 18 they are still screaming for attention something has happened and is important to know what can result. People who don’t have their needs met can be squeezed. They may seek to meet their needs through sex, drugs, money, work, position or performance. All people are needy and we all need water, love, shelter and interaction with people but some people are not having their needs met. Eg. starving people. There’s nothing wrong with being needy; it is normal but God has given us needs that only he can meet.

There are three needs that we all have:1. We need to be loved and accepted without string attached. (Unconditional love) Not love based on our performance as there is no such thing as earned love. If you have a love that you’ve earned it is not love. If your acceptance is based on performance you will just get more tired but if it is based on real love it will bring rest.2. We all have a need for worth. We all need to feel worth something but we can learn to get our value from things rather than God. This is what makes us think about “what will our neighbors think?’ We can only obtain a true sense of worth from God. Sometimes our childhood mirrors were damaged and the people who should have helped us feel valuable didn’t. Don’t look into cracked mirrors to determine your value.

Friend, we are not worthy but we are worth a lot to God. The worth of an object like a painting is determined by the purchaser not it’s intrinsic value. We are worth a lot to God so we were shown grace. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve and mercy is not getting what we do deserve. There are no deserved gifts.