The Gospel According To Humpty Dumpty

Introduction

I John 1:9

Youth Day Message

There's a nursery rhyme which goes like this:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again.

The first line of this popular nursery rhyme says:

I. HUMPTY DUMPTY SAT ON A WALL.

Let's look at this situation. What's happening here. This was a high wall. It was a narrow wall. Now, why on earth would an egg choose to sit on such a high narrow wall? Maybe he wanted to see over on the other side. Maybe the birds made him do it. Maybe he just liked to climb and do scary things. Surely he didn't think about the consequences. Didn't he realize that he was fragile? Didn't he realize that eggs break? Didn't he realize the danger of his position? He didn't seem to. He just sat there on that wall without a care in the world. But Humpty Dumpty took a risk. He made a mistake and he was about to suffer the consequences.

Now, what should Humpty Dumpty have done? Well, for one thing, he should have stayed off that wall. There were warm nests available. There was soft hay. There was green grass. There was white sand -all safe places to play. But no, he had to push his limits and perch on a dangerous wall.

Are we like that? Do we do dangerous and foolish things? Do we take unnecessary risks? Young people, remember Humpty Dumpty and stay away from danger. Don't go to those parties where kids drink and smoke. Don't get into those cars with drivers who speed and take chances. Don't join a group that breaks the law or bends the rules or deceives parents and teachers.

Paul said, "Abstain from every form of evil." (1 Thess. 5:22).

You know the wrong crowd and the wrong hangouts and the wrong roads. You know who you should associate with, and where you should go, and what you should do.

Humpty Dumpty would never have fallen if he hadn't gotten on that wall. He knew that eggshells can shatter; but he probably thought, "That won't happen to me. I'm different. Other eggs may be stupid, but not me! Other eggs may be vulnerable, but not me! Other eggs may be unlucky, but not me!

Too many of us think we're smarter, so we won't get caught with that cigarette or that beer. We think we're stronger, so we won't get beaten up or shot if we're with a gang. We think we're luckier, so we won't be the one to catch a disease or die from an over-dose. But, that's not true! It can happen to anyone! The Scripture says, "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).

Unfortunately, in Humpty Dumpty's case, it did.

The next line says:

II. HUMPTY DUMPTY HAD A GREAT FALL.

It seems the most awful, horrible, terrible thing happened. That poor little egg crashed. We don't know why. Maybe he was showing off. Maybe he got overbalanced. Maybe someone pushed him. Maybe the wind blew him off. Anyway, that doesn't matter. What matters is that Humpty Dumpty fell. Blaming the wind or an overactive rooster won't fix the problem.

As we said, Humpty Dumpty took a risk. He made a mistake and he suffered the consequences.

Sin will take you further than you planned to go!

Sin will keep you longer than you planned to stay!

Sin will cost you more than you planned to pay!

Paul said, "The wages of sin is death . . ." (Rom. 6:23).

Humpty Dumpty didn't plan to smash on the hard ground on the other side of that wall. He didn't plan to lay there in that embarrassing condition all day while horses and men tried to fix him. And he certainly didn't plan to break his shell into a thousand pieces and let his yolk soak into the dirt. No! He didn't plan on any of these things because, in fact, he didn't plan at all. That was his problem! Mankind is a Humpty Dumpty and mankind has had a great fall. The Scripture says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). We've climbed and stretched and reached for more power, more money, more possessions, more weapons and more pleasure and we've come crashing down.

Divorce shatters families.

Crime shatters communities.

War shatters nations.

Today's world is fractured, fragmented, splintered and split apart. That's what happened to Humpty Dumpty.

But, the worst is yet to come. The last two lines tell the tale:

III. ALL THE KING'S HORSES AND ALL THE KING'S MEN CANNOT PUT HUMPTY DUMPTY TOGETHER AGAIN.

This refutes our overly optimistic outlook. We're a "can do" generation. We take pride in our achievements. We can fix anything. Get a disease, there are drugs to cure it. Commit a crime, there are sharp lawyers to beat the rap. Wreck your car; there are insurance adjusters to replace it. But, unfortunately, some things can't be fixed. Once a deed is done, it can't be undone. Horses and people can't make things right. Life moves forward. Time marches on. When that hurtful word is said, or that careless deed is done, nothing can take them back.

When our reputation is ruined and our relationships are destroyed, all the horsepower of science; all the might of knowledge; all the discoveries and insights and military victories cannot put us together again.

Power and knowledge are good. They are gifts of God. They are "the king's horses," but they cannot fix fallen souls. All our technological experts and medical personnel; all the attorneys and politicians and academic professors cannot put us together again. Skill and education are good. They are gifts of God. They are "the king's men"; but they cannot fix fallen souls!

Like Humpty Dumpty, our characters and hopes and dreams are fragmented. As long as we are selfish, irresponsible and uncommitted, our lives will remain shattered. So what hope do we have? "The king's horses" have failed. "The king's men" have failed. There is only one hope-that is "the King" (The Lord Jesus Christ) himself! Let us trust Him for help. Let us ask Him to put us together again. He created us in the beginning, and He is able and willing to re-create us. The Scriptures say: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you . . ." (Ezek. 36:26).

"If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (II Cor. 5:17).

Even though we've fallen, the image of God is still within us. We want to be whole. Like Humpty Dumpty we have fallen and our lives are shattered, but God can make us whole. He specializes in making things whole.

When a desperately sick woman came to Christ, he said, "Take courage; your faith has made you whole . . ." (Matt. 9:22).

When the invalid, by the pool, obeyed Christ, the Scripture says, "Immediately the man became whole . . ." (John 5:9).

When the poor lame beggar responded, Peter said, "By the name of Christ . . . this man stands here before you whole." (Acts 4:10).

So, the moral of the story is this: If you climb a high wall and lose your balance, you'll fall. And once you've fallen, all the things in the world and all the people in the world can't put you together again. But God can!

Conclusion

Once an egg went from the farm to the supermarket. He was bought along with eleven others and taken for a ride. Then as he was being stored in the refrigerator, something happened. He fell, and like Humpty Dumpty was shattered into a hundred pieces. Was he doomed? Would he end up in the garbage? No! Fortunately, his owner was not just a cook, he was an artist. He carefully gathered the bits of shell and carried them to his studio. After days of arrangement and design, the plain old broken egg had been recreated into a wonderful little piece of art. Of course, that egg will never be the same - its shell is still cracked. The white has evaporated and the yolk is gone. But it has a new life as a thing of beauty and wholeness.

Later, as it sat in a museum among priceless Faberge creations, a viewer murmured, "It was broken to be more beautiful!"

This can happen to you too! Those hurts and pains and cracks don't have to destroy you. If you're broken, God can make you beautiful. Let him arrange the broken pieces of your life. Let him make you whole again. Like the egg, you will never be quite the same. The scars will still be there, but you can have a new life.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again.

But God can!