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– Second Hand Heart –
Performed by Ben Haenow
(Featuring Kelly Clarkson)
The light of the morning finds you sleeping in my bed
And it’s not like the stories; it’s never like what they said
I know who you want me to be but I’m just not there yet
Yeah, the broken road’s always been home and it’s so hard to forget
Wait for me now
Will you wait for me now?
CHORUS:
I might think too much, drink too much, stay out too late
I know I’m just a fool, but I swear I can change
I can’t steal you the stars, but I can give you this secondhand heart
All your friends think I’m hopeless, they don’t understand
That this imperfect love can start over again
It’s been broken apart, but will you still take my secondhand heart?
(FIRST STANZA REPEATS)
(CHORUS REPEATS)
FIRST BRIDGE:
If you let me show you, I could love you the same
And I can’t steal you the stars but I can try every day
Oh, you know they’ll never tear us apart
SECOND BRIDGE:
And I’m just a fool, but I swear I can change
And I can’t steal you the stars, but I can try every day
Oh, you know you got my secondhand heart
(SECOND BRIDGE REPEATS)
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“The broken road’s always been home and it’s so hard to forget.”
The New Testament apostle Paul was well-acquainted with life on a corrupt and broken road. The scriptures tell us that as a devout Jew and an educated Pharisee living in Jerusalem several years after the ministry of Jesus, Paul (formerly Saul) “made havoc of the church” that Christ had established, “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 8:3; Acts 9:1). He was present at the trial of the apostle Stephen, even “consenting unto his death” which was later carried out by stoning (Acts 8:1).
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| These 2,200 year-old ruins of the city of Palmyra lie just northeast of Damascus. |
After the martyrdom of Stephen, Saul continued his persecution of the Disciples of Christ by “entering into every house” in Jerusalem, “haling men and women [and] commit[ing] them to prison” (Acts 8:3). Saul sought and received permission from the Jewish chief priest to travel a great distance northward to the city Damascus simply to continue the persecution of Christians there, promising “that if he found any of this way [Christian], whether they were men or women, he [would] bring them bound unto Jerusalem” (Acts 9:2).
Saul was taking the figurative broken road of corruption and sin, and was well on his way toward the condemnation of the Lord. But it was on a literal road—the one that took him to Damascus—that Saul’s life (and his name) changed forever. A bright light stopped Saul is his tracks as he neared the city, and the voice of Jesus Christ spoke unto him saying, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9:3-4). This heavenly manifestation was the beginning of the remarkable and influential apostleship and leadership of Paul, “a chosen vessel unto [the Lord]” who was called by the risen Savior “to bear [His] name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15).
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| "The Conversion of St. Paul" (1767) by Nicolas B. Lepicie. |
It could be suggested that, before his conversion, Paul had found a knack for persecuting and condemning Christians. It was acceptable and honorable to him, even pertinent to his Pharisaic training and upbringing as a devout Jew. Even Ananias, a Christian disciple in Damascus who baptized Paul after his conversion, said that he had heard from many others “how much evil [Saul] hath done to [the] saints at Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13). You could say he was “at home” in his corrupt mission—comfortable on the broken road of life, completely complacent in his talent for destruction and death.
The amazing thing, however, is how Paul eventually found an even more fitting niche in proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond. The tables had turned completely, too, as Paul then became the target of persecution, imprisonment, and death threats as an outspoken crusader for the cause of Christ. As one of the most active and successful missionaries in all of Christianity, Paul would tell his miraculous story of conversion to countless people—Jew, Gentile, and fellow Christians—over the course of his travels and ministry. He testified powerfully of the Son of God Who came to earth to redeem mankind from sin. Political and religious leaders of high status and great power heard it declared from the mouth of Paul that the Promised Messiah had come, that the Savior of the world had lived among them, and that He lived still in glory and holiness.
Paul must have been remorseful at times for the lives he had so negatively affected in his earlier life—for those lives he had had a part in taking. In his epistle to the Galatians he confessed, “Beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it” (Galatians 1:13). But his confidence in his forgiveness and redemption through the blood of Christ was undoubting and unwavering. Although he had taken a dramatic detour from the broken road he was once on (and though he would likely never forget those rough experiences), yet he realized that life was still full of paths that were occasionally rocky, steep, narrow, and difficult—especially as a champion for the sake of Christ.
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| Paul's "thorn in the flesh" kept him humble and penitent. |
“There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me,” Paul explained in his second epistle to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 12:7). Though he asked the Lord three separate times to take the trial away from him, the Lord knew the eternal benefits of Paul’s challenge. “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” said the Lord to Paul, who responded with gladness in submitting humbly to his infirmities so that he could learn to rely more fully on the Savior and His grace (2 Corinthians 12:9).
In this way, Paul teaches us all about broken roads. We learn from him that if we don’t like the path we are on, Christ gives us the encouragement and power to change our direction. Sometimes Jesus comes to us on the broken road, as He did to Paul, because He cares deeply for us and wants to help us reach our full potential; other times, as our feet become sore and our bodies grow weak from treading the faulty ground, we turn to our perfect Source of support and succor to help us correct our course, or if necessary, to repair the fractured path, mend our souls, and continue our journey forward.
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| Euphorbia milii, or Crown of Thorns, shows us that beauty can blossom from adversity. |
We also learn from Paul that experiencing a few bumps, inclines, and rough patches along the way is God’s intention for making the journey worthwhile and for our ultimate good. As we learn to dodge the obstacles, or pick ourselves up if we occasionally stumble over them, we become more reliant on the Savior for our strength, courage, and determination. And if we choose to learn from those hurdles rather than fear them or curse them, we can discover a deeper appreciation for life’s challenges and trials and see the purpose they play in God’s Plan of Happiness (2 Nephi 2:11).
As Paul testified, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). The Lord adds His approval of those who sincerely repent and turn from sin by promising that our sins are forgotten and He remembers them no more (D&C 58:42-43).
