Thought for the week: The right attitudes will change and transform our lives

​If an ornament fell and smashed, despite super glue availability, it was binned within seconds.

As I come to the latter years of my life the word broken has taken on a new understanding, with coronavirus, climate change, economic and social problems, hunger, inequality, and the migration of people fleeing war or persecution in their own countries.

In Northern Ireland, which despite relative peace, has issues of violence, murder, drugs, suicide and identity. Our community is full of people with broken spirits, broken relationships, and broken lives.

Much of what we call brokenness is caused by what the Bible describes as sin, the common denominator that is part of every human being, as St Paul writes:"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".

Every time I sing the well-known hymn "Praise my soul the King of heaven", I am moved by the words "ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven". And that is all that I can claim. I too, am a broken person and, far from perfect, but when as a young man I discovered the experience of forgiveness through what Christ had done for me, this ultimately changed the direction of my life.

I live daily with the knowledge that without Christ, I cannot live, and without Him, I certainly cannot die, and that in the life to come, no one who trusts Him will be broken, but all things will be made new in the new heaven and the new earth.

Our country continues to be a place of division and remains broken.

I pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to turn the hearts of men and women to the reality of what it is to follow Jesus, to love Him completely and to love our neighbours as ourselves.

Then, attitudes will be changed and lives transformed.