“What’s Broken?”
This is an adapted excerpt from Square One, Session 1. Check out the full Square One series here.
If you told your doctor it hurts when you touch your arm, the last thing you'd want to hear is, “Then don’t touch it.” A dad joke is a terrible remedy for a real ailment. When we’re trying to get to the root of our aches and pains, we need a real diagnosis, not a clever deflection. This is true for our physical health, and it's even more true for the deeper issues we face in life.
Let’s reflect on what’s not working in life. Maybe it’s personal issues with money, relationships, or health. Perhaps it’s a constant anxiety about the future or a bitterness about the past that you can't seem to shake. Beyond our own lives, we see the brokenness in the world: poverty, disease, hatred, political unrest, and war. These are all real, significant problems, but they’re symptoms, not the root cause. We have a long history of misdiagnosing our condition, treating the surface-level problems while ignoring the chronic disease that lies just beneath it all.
This is where a different kind of doctor enters the picture. In Matthew 9:12, Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” He explained that he came to treat this very kind of sickness — not to condemn us, but to heal us.
The Big Idea
Humanity has slipped into some terribly unhealthy patterns, and if we're honest, we can see that brokenness in ourselves.
Centuries before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah painted a vivid picture of this sickness in Isaiah 59:1-13. He described a people separated from God, trying to sustain themselves with worthless things like snake eggs and spiderwebs. This ancient passage uses three powerful words to diagnose our condition. These might feel like abstract "church words," but they describe a disease that’s deeply personal.
Iniquity — our crooked heart disease. This envisions a twisted lifestyle and worldview. Like a poorly hammered nail, we’re all bent out of alignment from our created purpose.
Transgression — our shattered lives. In our transgression, we break apart what was once whole—within ourselves and in our relationships. Most importantly, we wreck our connection to God.
Sin — our chronic failure. This describes having bad aim, like an archer who constantly misses the mark. It points to a fundamental moral failure, as “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
These words give a name to the dysfunction that defines so much of the human condition. It often feels like our worst impulses, desires, and habits have more power over us than we do (Rom. 7:15). It might seem like too much to hope for — that God would save us from all of this.
The Big Question
Do you see your need for Jesus to heal you from the afflictions you face? May the Lord help us look at our lives honestly and bless us as we come to Jesus for healing.