Brought Near
Therefore,
remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised”
by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by
human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded
from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise,
without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once
were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our
peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the
dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its
commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in
one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to
death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and
peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father
by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are
no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and
also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole
building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And
in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives
by his Spirit.
Ephesians
2:11-22
In AD 117 Hadrian had
18,000 Roman soldiers build an 80 miles barrier to keep the northern barbarians
from invading the south.
Hadrian built a
physical wall to keep people out. In contrast, Jesus Christ is remembered for
tearing down a spiritual wall to let people in.
One of the most
beautiful aspects of the Christians faith is the unity among those who follow
Jesus. Through His death on the cross, Christ has removed the barriers that so
often separate people and has drawn us together in true friendship and love.
Christian
unity begins at the cross.
Our Daily Bread –