There are times during particularly intense matches when I feel my body is broken, not literally, but almost literally. That is, the joints hurt, the legs don’t want to move, the lungs are bursting, and the mind can’t think of a way to win. Pulled muscles, cramps, and sprained ankles are also included in this list of “bodily injustices.” This is when my game goes downhill, fast, and it does tend to take the spirit out of me.
But this is all part of the game. So we rest, heal, apply heat and lidocaine and schedule the next match, hoping to return to a normal, unbroken state. I can’t say that we’ve improved or benefitted for this experience; hopefully, we are no worse off.
That’s the game of tennis. Now the game of life.
The Bible has much to say about brokenness. For example, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. “(Psalm 51:17). An uplifting phrase after a devastating experience is “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)*
In the New Testament, brokenness has a redeeming, affirming meaning: our brokenness connects us to each other and our brokenness brings us to Christ. (Wikipedia) Consider all the references to breaking bread and how bread that is broken feeds the hungry, both the body and symbolically the soul. The ultimate gift of brokenness is found in the institution of the Lord’s Supper: “And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’” (Mark 14:22)
Our tennis body will be broken many times and will eventually break altogether. In contrast, the body we have in Christ will be a whole, glorious body through the unfathomable mystery of the atonement—the breaking of His body. How ironic, then, that the path to wholeness is through brokenness. Praise the Lord—game on!
*(On the lighter side, several references of brokenness in the Old Testament refer to victories over enemies: David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” 1 Chronicles 14:11. This has a certain earthly appeal and one that I would enjoy on the tennis court!)
