Proverbs 6:15. therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
You may recall from yesterday’s proverb that Solomon is describing the person who goes around stirring up trouble, sowing discord. Then when their friends, family, and co-workers have had enough, they snap and break off the relationship. Now the relationship is broken beyond repair. Calamity has come in a moment.
Have you ever been surprised by a broken relationship? A friendship is broken and you can’t seem to understand why. Or your marriage is suffering and just doesn’t make sense to you. Your young adult child won’t ever come visit. Your co-workers seem aloof. People are distant.
These proverbs are reminding us that normally these things don’t just happen out of nowhere. This “sowing and reaping” principle (we reap what we sow) dominates most of our lives. If we sow apples, we reap apples. If we sow trouble, we reap trouble. If we sow discord, we reap discord. Most of life is cause and effect. Evil brings calamity. If we sin relationally without turning to God for healing, our relationships may be broken beyond healing.
Why are relationships broken beyond healing? Because someone went around sowing discord (v.14). And that someone might be you.
But the good news of our union with Christ is that our relationship with God is never broken beyond healing. Faith in Christ saves us from the ultimate calamity – relational separation from God. In Christ we have been invited into the Trinitarian community of perfect love and acceptance. The more we trust this position in Christ, the less we will feel the need to sow discord and strife. The more we trust who we are in relation to the Father, the more we will be able to sow love and peace into every other relationship we have been blessed with by God.
You: Is there a broken relationship in your life? Does it surprise you that it is broken?
You in Christ: Your relationship with God is whole. How does this truth allow you to sow wholeness into every other relationship you have?
Christ in you: Is there a relationship that Jesus wants you to begin repairing today?How can you start to sow peace, grace and love?
Pray: Father, I don’t want my relationships to break down. Thank you that in Christ my relationship with you is secure forever. Amen.
To Live is Christ 