Back in 2018 I received a small cactus as a gift from a dear friend. The place where we were living at the time did not receive much sunlight, so as a result the cactus grew tall and gangly, searching for sunlight.
It was never meant to grow tall. Its stem could not support the top-heavy weight. To help the situation, I propped the top-heavy little cactus up against a pencil stuck into the dirt.
One day, while I was readjusting the pencil, the gangly, top-heavy cactus slipped off its pencil support. In an instant it snapped off!
I was devastated.
I simply could not bear to throw away the pitiful little stem. One tiny forlorn leaf remained. Was there any hope??
Several weeks later, much to my shock and surprise, I noticed a new little leaflet growing from off the side of the stem. There was hope after all!!
Here you can see a photo of this same cactus today. Not only did it survive, but it outgrew its pot and has just recently been transplanted to a bigger pot.
As I think about this cactus, it reminds me a lot of the people who were in the church at Corinth. The letter of 1 Corinthians describes how these people had really messed up! They had blown it! Just like the little cactus that fell off the pencil and snapped off.
Was there any hope for these “broken” people of Corinth who had blown it so bad?
For that matter, is there any hope for us today?
When we mess up … when we blow it … is there any hope for our broken lives??
YES! Yes there is hope! Just like this little cactus, God can redeem even the most broken of lives! God can restore what has been broken off! God can make something beautiful after all!
There is Always Hope!
