Sheila W. - June 6, 2010
Note: I used all of the "Walk" portion of Scripture this time, and I'm using it as the Scripture AND the Observation because I copied it in The Message version, which is awesome!
Scripture & Observation:
Eph. 2:11-22 But don't take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God's ways had no idea of any of this, didn't know the first thing about the way God works, hadn't the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God's covenants and promises in Israel, hadn't a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ - dying that death, shedding that blood - you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything. The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody. Christ brought us together through his death on the Cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father. That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all - irrespective of how we got here - in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day - a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
Application:
I love the nation of Israel, the people of the Jewish nation. I have always loved them, and always will. The Word speaks plainly about being blessed if you bless Israel and cursed if you curse Israel. This is a special nation of people, no doubt, and I will never, ever cross them. Having said that, how AWESOME that God has made us equals! Like verse 15 says He started over at the cross with one new human being--all of God's promises are for the Jew and Gentile alike! I am so appreciative of this--I would love and serve God even if this weren't true, but it IS true, so I am doubly blessed!!
Prayer:
Dear Father, I love You more each day. Only You can make things new; only You can create new people; only You can put together people from all different backgrounds and make them work peacefully together--only YOU. Help me to be a peacemaker, to help heal dissension, bias, racism, and even ignorance. You have given me so much; help me to give to others in the same way. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.
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