The Road Through Ephesus...Drawn Ephesians 2:14

Well. It's been a while since I posted on Ephesians, so I thought I would start unpacking what God is speaking to me in this next verse.  It amazes me every time I approach this how much he teaches me.  It amazes me how much he reteaches me because I apparently wasn't paying attention the first time. I hope it's the same for you as you dive into these scriptures.  I pray that God is revealing more and more of himself to you.

Now, on to Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:14

"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."

To me, this verse speaks of a promise that has been fulfilled.  It tells me that Christ promised peace to us and he has given us that peace in himself when he was on the cross.  What a breathtaking picture.   I know I've written before on here about how Christ is united with each believer.  But this verse takes the theme of unity and pushes it further.  Not only are we to be united to Christ, but we are also to be united to other believers.  We are to live in peace with them.  Hostility has no place in our relationships with other believers (really it has no place whatsoever, but especially in the context of relationships between believers).

Christ desires his church, his bride to be unified.  To be of one mind. He even prayed for that:

"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.  I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you.  And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me."

John 17:20-21

How it must sadden him to see all the arguing and bickering that occurs in churches today.  It wasn't his plan at all for it to be that way!  How often do we take the petty little things and blow them up to huge proportions? Don't get me wrong. There are certain things that every Christian should believe.  But too often we get caught up in preferences, in the nonessentials, that we miss the big picture: the world is supposed to be drawn to Christ through our love for each other (and them) and our unity.

How well are we doing drawing the world to Jesus?