A Journey Through Ephesians… 2:11-16

Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

I am writing this on the morning of July 4th….

I think I would have stopped around verse 13 had it not been Independence Day, but the last part of this passage is too fitting for the occasion …. “He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”

Gosh, freedom is never free.

I refuse to get political on this blog. Ever. But…Today might be the closest I ever come.

I just wonder if God the Father slaps hand to forehead every now and then and whispers, “Ephesians 2:14-16 guys. Remember? How on earth do you all keep finding ways to stay hostile towards one another down there?”

So. Much. Division. And I get it. We are free people with free will and free to have our own opinions. I have my own, too. BUT CHIRST HIMSELF HAS BROUGHT PEACE TO US. And I am not talking about non-believer and believers. I am talking about the people of God.… Christian going cut throat at one another. It breaks my heart.

I know it breaks His.

What if for one day, on this July 4th, we could just sit with the Lord and remember the price that was paid, not ONLY for our freedom in America, or how we are united to God through the death of Christ… but ALSO that we could be united to each other.

Maybe we take time to be thankful for the body of Christ and think how we can love one another in our differences verses tear one another down in effort to “be right” or our voices heard. Take time to remember, “Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.” I know Paul is specifically speaking of Jews and Gentiles here, but I am speaking about everything. We can still have strong, strong opinions on our side of a topic and not sin against one another. Surely. We have the spirit of God in us…. right?

Victor Frankl,  holocaust survivor and author , once wrote, “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness.” I love this quote and think it is fitting. I will just leave this right here.

Ok one and done. Soap box over.

Brother or sister, I am honored to be united to you in Christ Jesus. We are family, you and I. Not only sinners saved by grace but joint heirs to Jesus. It is a blessing to grow more like Him alongside you today.