COMMON GROUND
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation? Ephesians 2:14 (NKJV)
Yesterday we saw how the cross was God's tool to reconcile man to Himself. But that's not where the reconciling power of the cross ends. Just as the cross reconciled our vertical relationship with God, it also serves to reconcile our horizontal relationships with our fellow man.
Paul points to this in the Book of Ephesians as he shares how Christ's death on the cross broke down the wall of division that separated the Jews and the Gentiles. To fully appreciate this, we need to understand how this wall got there. For several centuries, the Jews and Gentiles were at constant odds. Jews viewed Gentiles as godless pagans (which they typically were) and Gentiles viewed Jews as extreme religious zealots. In the natural world, they typically had nothing to do with each other.
But the cross changed all that. Because of the cross, both groups realized the thing they did have in common-their sin-was forgiven. In Christ, Jews and Gentiles were brought onto a level playing ground and given a common gift so precious that it transcended their differences.
The same holds true today. Not only does the cross reconcile Jews and Gentiles, it also has the power to reconcile every racial and social distinction in our culture today. In Jesus, we all receive a gift that's greater than any difference we may have with our fellowman, a gift that motivates us to accept and love others without discrimination or distinction.
In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. (Colossians 3:11 NLT)
Think about it…
What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?
Devotions with Emotion
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