The Dividing Wall
I am going to ask you a very personal question friends.
Is there someone in your life to whom you need to extend forgiveness? Something happened – something little – that slowly built a wall of hostility brick by brick by brick.
When the “incident” first happened, you didn’t think too much of the first brick, or even the
first row of bricks, that was laid down. As a matter of fact, you may have even supplied some of the mortar that is now keeping that wall in place. But now – oh now – you have a massive brick wall blocking the view and separating you from someone you once loved.
You have prayed for peace in the matter, but it just has not come.
You have pounded on the wall, but it hasn’t budged. Maybe you have even read in Ephesians 2:14 that Jesus Himself is our peace and that He broke down “the barrier of the dividing wall.” Surely if Jesus did it way back then He could do it for you now.
What wall was Paul referring to in these verses anyway? The reference is to a very real wall in the temple that separated the Gentiles into the “outer” court. The Jews fully believed that Gentiles would defile the temple if they entered and they even posted a sign threatening death to any Gentile who was bold enough (or stupid enough) to enter. It was truly a dividing wall of hostility separating two nations of people.
But Christ made things up for us in His flesh by dying on the cross and brought forgiveness of our sins. The cross was not just a great equalizer of Jews and Gentiles, it also created a whole new breed of Christ followers. The cross, symbolically smashed the dividing wall to pieces, “thus establishing peace” (Ephesians 2:15).
Peace – yes – peace is the longing of your heart. Instead, the bitterness and hostility that built the dividing wall brick by brick is still lingering. But (and this is a big BUT) when you are submissive to Christ, He can knock the wall down immediately for both parties. What does it take? It takes a lot of humility – maybe even some facedown time before Christ. Pride so often keeps us from allowing Christ to abolish the wall.
The choice is yours…
You can choose to continue holding a grudge or you can choose today to reach across that wall and extend forgiveness, with all humility, and then watch it crumble.
What if our default response to people was forgiveness instead of grudges? We can choose forgiveness from the very beginning instead of getting mad and slinging mortar down on bricks and building walls!
Christ not only died to bring unity among Jews and Gentiles, but to bring unity to our most important relationships: our spouse, friends, family members. Choose forgiveness today and let Christ be your peace and your demolition crew.
Amen to this. It’s so easy to hold a grudge but what a weight that Ian lifted if we release it.