But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. — Ephesians 2:13-14
I was stuck in traffic yesterday, watching two drivers shouting at each other through their windows. The anger was so thick you could almost see it. It made me think about all the walls we build, the invisible barriers that keep us from truly connecting with others.
Paul writes about something revolutionary here. He's talking about how Christ didn't just offer peace, he became our peace. There's something profound in that distinction. It's not like Jesus handed us a peace treaty to sign. He stepped into the middle of our mess and said, 'I am the bridge.'
We live in a world obsessed with picking sides. Liberal or conservative, vaccinated or unvaccinated, iPhone or Android (okay, maybe that last one isn't as serious). But Christ's peace isn't about finding the right side of every argument. It's about discovering that in him, the arguments themselves lose their power to divide us.
This doesn't mean we become pushovers or that we stop caring about important issues. It means we've found something deeper than our differences. When we understand that we've all been 'brought near' by the same grace, it changes how we see the person across the political aisle, the coworker who irritates us, even the stranger in traffic.
Christ's peace isn't temporary like a ceasefire. It's everlasting because it's rooted in who he is, not in our circumstances.
🙏 A Prayer for Today
Lord Jesus, thank you for being our peace when we couldn't find it ourselves. Help us carry this peace into every relationship, every disagreement, and every moment of tension we face today. Show us how to be bridge builders in a world that loves walls. Amen.
Responses & Reflections (0)