Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again

Whoever wrote the famous Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme was a very perceptive person. The author must have observed many of the same things we see happening in our world today. Everything nailed down is coming lose. Everything sewn together is unraveling at the seams. Everything we though couldn’t and wouldn’t happen is actually happening.

Recently I visited the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, and viewed an exhibit called Graffiti Alley. The exhibit portrays graphic images of loneliness, abortion, injustice, divorce, racism, crime, homosexuality, murder, violence, and addiction. These are symptoms of the disease that deeply affects our world today, reminding us we are Humpty Dumpty people living in a Humpty Dumpty world.

The Humpty Dumpty scene repeats itself on a daily basis because we are sinful and fallen people. Of course all the king’s men are quick to tell us they have the answer to what ails Humpty Dumpty. What Mr. Dumpty needs, they say, is an education, better economic conditions, a new environment, a job, world peace, and yes, more government assistance.

Despite all the help Mr. Dumpty receives, he still tumbles. And when he does he is quick to blame somebody else for his fall from the wall. We are masters at playing the blame game, aren’t we? Someone once sprayed graffiti on the streets of Philadelphia that read, “Humpty Dumpty was pushed!” Enough said.

The real story behind our problems is found in Genesis chapter 3. The chapter begins with an eerie tone. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made” (v. 1). Even if you weren’t familiar with the story you’d know something was brewing. The sky is darkening. The mood is shifting. You can’t get past the first sentence of chapter three without sensing that something dark and ominous is about to spoil the garden paradise of God.

With the fall of man, the creation narrative moves from paradise to paradise lost, from the age of innocence to a Humpty Dumpty world. Guilt and shame tarnish relationships that were once characterized by transparency and honesty.

And what all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not do, God did through Jesus Christ.

Comments

yalesrl says:
Thank you for so powerfully reminding us that only God can put the broken pieces of our lives together. He resolves the chaos, brings order and peace and makes us whole in Him. In a world so broken, this is a marvelous promise and an experience. Imagine that! - being made whole and preserved blameless in a totally broken world. This can only come as we surrender to a transformational relationship with God.

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“Every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”

Romans 8:28 MSG