I remember when my mom took me to the George Patton museum decades ago, and there was a piece of the Berlin wall there. It's hard for me to grasp what it would have been like, suddenly divided from the other part of town, isolated in a strange way by a concrete barrier.
The Jews and Gentiles were divided, but Christ came to tear all division down. He came to make peace, reconciling us to one another and to God. I talk about this a lot, but we so often forget that the cross has a vertical and horizontal component. In the American church, we've isolated the work of Christ to the vertical piece, where we are reconciled to God. This is obviously critically important, but we cannot miss the horizontal piece, where Christ is seeking to make peace between divided communities. We are all on equal footing before God, all of us sinners and justified through the grace of God. None is better than another.
It should change the way we look at the world. Like Pharaoh, it's easy for me to harden my heart towards people or groups I disagree with. They clearly need to get with the program, right? Right?
But we are all sinners, dependent upon the mighty work that Christ did on the cross. Gratitude should define us, and lead us into places of reconciliation.
Prayer for Today: Jesus, thank you for tearing down the division between me and you. Help me to be an instrument of peace in my community, reconciling one with another through my words and deeds.
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