Broken Relationships

READ

In Mark 10, when religious leaders approached Jesus about divorce, they came armed with legal arguments and theological technicalities. Yet Jesus' response revealed something far deeper – God's heart breaks over broken relationships. By pointing back to creation, Jesus reminds us that God's original design wasn't just about rules, but about deep, lasting unity that reflects His own nature.

Let’s take a moment to read Mark 10:1-12:

Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

“What did Moses command you?” he replied.

They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

REFLECT

God's intent for marriage emerges from His very character – a God of covenant, faithfulness, and unbreakable promises. When Jesus quotes Genesis, saying "the two shall become one flesh," He's describing more than physical union. He's painting a picture of the kind of deep, vulnerable, lasting unity that God desires not just in marriage, but in all relationships.

The Pharisees focused on permissible grounds for separation, but Jesus redirected attention to God's restorative purposes. Like a master artist grieving over a damaged masterpiece, God's primary concern isn't determining when relationships can be broken, but how they can be preserved, restored, and strengthened. His heart yearns for reconciliation, not division.

Consider how this reflects God's larger story of redemption. Throughout Scripture, God persistently pursues restoration with humanity, even when we turn away. He is the Father running to embrace the prodigal son, the Shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to find one lost lamb. In marriage, He invites us to display this same relentless commitment to unity and reconciliation.

The disciples' shocked reaction suggests they understood the radical nature of Jesus' words. In their culture, as in ours, people sought escape clauses and exit strategies. But Jesus calls His followers to a higher vision – one where relationships are viewed not as disposable contracts but as sacred bonds worth fighting to preserve.

For those experiencing the pain of broken relationships, Jesus' words don't come as condemnation but as hope. They remind us that God's perfect plan involves restoration, that His heart breaks over our brokenness, and that He provides grace and strength for the hard work of reconciliation. While some breaks can't be mended in this fallen world, God's ideal remains unity and healing.

Modern culture often prioritizes individual happiness over relational wholeness. Yet Jesus' teaching challenges us to view relationships through God's eyes – as precious bonds He designed for permanence. When we grasp how deeply God desires unity, we're motivated to pursue peace, seek reconciliation, and work toward restoration in all our relationships.

God's hatred of divorce stems not from rigid rule-keeping but from His deep love for His children and His knowledge of how relationship fractures wound human hearts. Like a parent watching beloved children fight, God's heart breaks when relationships He designed for blessing become sources of pain.

RESPOND

Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.

• In what ways can your approach to relationships – whether marriage, family, or friendship – better reflect God's heart for unity and His commitment to restoration?

REST

Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:

Father of reconciliation, thank you for never giving up on restoring relationship with us. Help us see broken relationships through your eyes – not with judgment but with hope for healing. Give us Your strength to pursue unity, Your wisdom to know how to repair what's broken, and Your grace to extend forgiveness as You have forgiven us. Plant Your heart for restoration deep within us. Amen.