Good Morning All,
Song
of Solomon 2:15; “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes; that ruin the vineyards— for our vineyards are in blossom.”
If
any of you have every dealt with any kind of equipment that has moving parts,
you know what a bearing is. A bearing
holds a shaft in place while it turns.
There are bearings in everything.
There are wheel bearings in your car, there are tiny bearings in
electric motors, there are big bearings in tractors and planters and
combines. Bearings truly hold the world
together in many aspects.
The amazing thing about bearings is that it
takes so little to wreck them. It only
takes a few grains of sand that gets in the bearing; that can cause the bearing
to literally explode. When this happens
the wheel can fall off of your car or the electric motor will just stop, or the
tractor or combine or planter will stop.
There may even end up being more damage to the car or the motor or the
tractor as it suddenly and often times violently stops. Huge and expensive equipment can be reduced
to not much more than scrap metal by a few grains of sand. Cars can be involved in accidents that take
lives because of a few grains of sand.
In many ways, our relationships can be like
those bearing. It only takes a little
bit of trouble to escalate into calamity.
How many times have siblings refused to speak to each other for years
but not really remember why? How many
times have friendships been broken over minor misunderstandings that were not
healed before they became a malignant growth on the friendship?
God gives us the pleasure of friendship, of
loving families, of marriage but it takes work from us as well. There is always something trying to destroy
those relationships. It is sin and the
devil trying to be the “sand in the bearing” in your life. It can take the form of jealousy, or greed or
envy. It can show itself as hurt
feelings and pride that refuses to let go or to reach out to heal. It can start with something as simple as a
forgotten date and mushroom into a broken relationship.
So we have to keep the sand out or catch
the little foxes like our verse tells us.
We have to pay attention to the relationships in our lives in order to
keep them healthy. We need to
communicate with each other; clearly speaking but more importantly, listening
to what is said and meant. We need to
value and respect these relationships so that they can strengthen and
grow. If we ignore them or take them for
granted, little foxes can dig them up and ruin them. Little grains of sand can destroy the bearing
and leave us with nothing of value and difficult to restore. So take care of your friendships and your
other relationships, they are a gift from God to be cared for.
Gracious
Father, help me to value the many relationships that you have given to me. Guide me to see the blessings that they
are. Help me to make them stronger. Be with those who are suffering from broken
and wounded relationships. Help them to
heal; help them to reconcile. In the precious
name of Jesus, our risen Savior, Amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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