Howard's Humpty Dumpty Analogy of Church History

Probably most of us English speakers have heard the rhyme Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Now if you make the church (Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant) Humpty Dumpty and Jesus the King, it kind of describes what has happened over the course of church history.  Like any analogy it falls apart if you get too detailed.  So I am talking in generalities here.  The first major split called the Great Schism occurred in 1054 between the East (Constantinople) (who became known as the Eastern Orthodox) and the West (Rome) (who became known as the Roman Catholics).  The term catholic means universal.  The second occurred at the Reformation between the Roman Catholic Church and the reformers who became known as the Protestants because of their protest against the Roman Catholic Church,  The Protestants have been a pretty feisty lot and have continued disagreeing, fighting and protesting amongst themselves to this day.  Last I heard I think there were 34,000 plus Protestant denominations not counting the non-denominational and house church folks (I almost went house church but that is another story).

There have been various attempts to bring us Christians or believers (as some prefer to be known) back together over the course of the last thousand years but all attempts by the king's men (us) have pretty much failed and so church history seems to resemble the rhyme above, does it not?

However, there is one stanza left off if one applies it to the church, "But the King can put Humpty Dumpty back together again."  And I, for one, believe I see signs that He is beginning to do so in spite of all the continued splitting and the divisions that still exist among us.  I am hopeful.

I will close with three quotes, one from our King Himself, one from the chorus of the famous country western song (Love Can Build A Bridge) and one from John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."  (John 15:12 RSV)

Love can build a bridge
Between your heart and mine
Love can build a bridge
Don't you think it's time?
Don't you think it's time?
(Love Can Build A Bridge by Naomi Judd, Paul Overstreet and John Barlow Jarvis)

“If your heart is as my heart, give me your hand” John Wesley