Thought of the Day !!

For Christ himself has brought peace to us.  He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 
                                               Ephesians 2:14 (NLT)

The Jews were the "chosen" ones of God.  They were the ones that God made His covenant with to be their God.  But God never meant for His love to be only for one group of people.  Through Christ, He brought His love and salvation to all who would accept it. 

He came to break down the walls that divided Jews and Gentiles.  There should no longer be hostility between us.  Of course if this is true for Jews and Gentiles, should it not be true also for us and anyone else?  There is so much hostility in this world today by Christians and non-Christians alike.  There are walls that we've built up that still need to be broken.

What are these walls that divide us today?  They are numerous.  Some are huge and made of stone and impossible to push over by our selves.  Others are made of clay and can be broken easily if we simply try.

One wall is the wall of hate.  It stands stronger than any wall.  Sometimes we put it up because we have differences of opinion.  This difference of opinion over religious or political views, or the color of the church, or how money should be spent or how it should be made, or who should do what and how they should do it….you get the point don’t you?  How many times have you seen a difference of opinion turn to anger? And anger can eventually lead to hate if we aren’t careful.  And the wall is up all because we couldn’t agree.  Sometimes on a big issue, but more often on something that doesn’t mean a hill of beans when it comes to the Kingdom of God. 

Hatred is a wall that is made out of a substance that can only be broken down with love.  The only way that these walls today can come down is if we allow the love of Christ to work through us.  The question today is, "Are we willing to love ALL people unconditionally so as to break down walls of hatred?" 

In the love of Christ,
greg