Peace, a Package Deal
Christians are peace-loving, but at times, our lives tell a different story. Understanding that the dual realities of peace with God and peace with one another are vitally interconnected will help us to live godly lives in Christ Jesus.
One of our great aims as Christians ought to be restoring broken relationships. We are helped in this lifelong pursuit by staring for a while at the first broken relationship—the one between God and man. Sin and its curse are the reason why friendships blow up, marriages splinter, and churches are shaken. Any hope of restoring broken relationships in our own lives must be rooted in the restoration of our relationship with God. If not, we’ll be applying superficial medicine to a terminal disease.
The relational harmony between God, Adam, and Eve in the garden along with the chaos of their eviction demonstrates that where there’s no peace with God, there’s no peace with one another. Before our parents ate the forbidden fruit, there was no sign of disorder in their relationship. However, as soon as they sinned, even before God confronted them, we see Adam and Eve covering up their nakedness with fig leaves and loin cloths. Evidently, shame between husband and wife had became a factor because of their sin against God.
We see it also in God’s cursing of the woman, when he says to her,
“Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
There are several interpretations as to what exactly this means, but one thing is clear—sin’s curse introduces tension between husband and wife—the one flesh union that God granted in the garden. Not to mention, we see them blaming each other, the serpent, and even God for their sin when confronted in the garden.
After their eviction from the garden, the relational fracture that was merely hinted at in the garden, becomes monstrous. After Abel offers a sacrifice in faith that pleases God, Cain is resentful and murders his brother. In the same chapter, we are introduced to Lamech, a descendant of Cain who sings the first murder song in history to his multiple wives in verses 23-24. This same relational fracture spreads like cancer through the early chapters of Genesis. In chapter 6, God speaks to Noah, revealing his motive for the coming flood, “And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them.” As one looks east of Eden, after the fall, the picture is bleak. The dominant theme is murder and violence. Sin against God bears the fruit of violence between man. This pattern of fracture with God leading to fracture between people becomes a primary hallmark of human depravity and one of the dominant themes of the Bible.
There have been thousands of books written about why relationships fail—but the Bible is the book that teaches us that relationships fail because we’re estranged from God. If we miss this fundamental truth about broken relationships, our efforts to restore them will be focused merely on the symptoms of our sickness.
Consider and discuss:
1. What or who do I typically blame my broken relationships on? Does my assessment, especially when I blame others, acknowledge sin as the root cause?
2. Have you ever noticed that when you’ve failed to pursue Christ, your other relationships tend to suffer as well?
3. Have you ever considered the effect that the regular means of grace—studying God’s Word, prayer, fellowship, gathering as a church to receive preaching and the sacraments, solitude, etc. will result in a dramatic renewal of my personal relationships?
