One Stone at a Time

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.

Ephesians 2:14

My husband built a retaining wall in our yard to replace a previous wall that was crumbling. Stone by stone he built a beautiful wall that was needed and helpful.

However, we can agree that some walls aren’t needed or helpful. They should never have been built.

Perhaps you’ve built a wall in a relationship. Someone hurt you, and you mentally grabbed a stone or two and neatly arranged them as a reminder of the hurtful deed. With the next hurt, you laid more stones, and the process continued until an impenetrable wall was built.

These walls of bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, withdrawal... may have given you a false sense of security, peace, or even justice. Yet, these walls have no place in the lives of believers. Have you tried to tear down a divisive wall in your own strength? Perhaps you’ve discovered that a well-fortified, long-standing wall is extremely difficult to remove.

A long-standing wall existed between Jews and Gentiles. However, when the gospel went forth, many Gentiles became believers. Some Jewish Christians in the early church struggled to accept non-Jewish believers. They wanted to impose their way of life upon the Gentiles. But in our verse above, Paul reminds all believers that Jesus Christ is our peace. He is the destroyer of dividing walls!

By His death on the cross, He tore down the greatest wall of separation—the wall of hostility between a holy God and sinful humanity. Through faith in Him, we have peace with God. Through His power at work within us, we are enabled to tear down walls of division, removing them stone by stone as we seek peace with others.

Lord, tear down any walls of division in my life. Help me make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (Romans 12:18, 14:19)

Jan Burkhart